Pamela Blanchard, PhD, Receives National Award for Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystem Stewardship
July 28, 2025
BATON ROUGE, LA – Pamela Borne Blanchard, PhD, associate professor in the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, received the Davidson Award for Individual Stewardship Achievement from the Coastal & Estuarine Research Federation (CERF). This national distinction recognizes Blanchard’s substantial contributions to coastal resiliency, education, awareness and stewardship.
Blanchard serves as the co-director for the LSU Coastal Roots program, a project where students in second grade through high school grow native plant seedlings and grass plugs that they then plant in a costal habitat in south Louisiana. During her 20+ years with Coastal Roots, Blanchard has worked with 46 schools, 17 parishes, and more than 31,000 participants. Her demonstrated commitment to fostering environmental stewardship among young people was a driving force in her nomination for this achievement.
I am honored and humbled to receive the Margaret Davidson Award for Individual Stewardship Achievement. I have the privilege of working with some of the best teachers and schools in Louisiana and am very proud of their hard work and dedication to restoring the native trees and dune grasses in Louisiana. I am supported by restoration partners who allow us access to their lands and by those who contribute in many other ways to the success of the LSU Coastal Roots Program.
Pamela Borne Blanchard, PhD
Associate Professor, LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
Co-director, LSU Coastal Roots
CERF is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing the understanding
and wise stewardship of estuarine and coastal ecosystems worldwide. Members of the
Federation include students, researchers, resource managers, policy makers, and educators
representing academic and research institutions, government, industry and consulting,
and non-governmental organizations. The Davidson Award for Individual Stewardship
was established to honor Margaret A. Davidson’s distinguished career in coastal resources
management and her support of the application of science to the wise stewardship of
estuaries and coasts. The Davidson award recognizes an individual that demonstrates
extraordinary leadership, service, innovation, and commitment to the management of
estuarine and coastal systems.
“Dr. Blanchard’s receipt of the Margaret Davidson Award for Individual Stewardship Achievement is a tremendous honor that reflects the depth of her commitment to environmental education and stewardship of Louisiana’s coastal communities through her tireless leadership of the LSU Coastal Roots program,” said Laura Choate, EdD, director of the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education. “The LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education is proud to celebrate Dr. Blanchard for this well-earned national recognition of her work.”
The 2025 CERF Achievement Awards are presented every two years; The recipients of these awards embody the mission of CERF to advance understanding and wise stewardship of estuarine and coastal ecosystems worldwide by promoting research in estuarine and coastal ecosystems; supporting the education of scientists, decision makers and the public; and facilitating communication among these groups.
Blanchard will be recognized at the 2025 CERF Awards Ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, in November.
About the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
A school of the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education, the Lutrill & Pearl Payne
School of Education (SOE) offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue
a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification
in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. In addition, SOE
offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master’s degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate
programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of focus. SOE’s focus is not only on preparing
highly qualified teachers but also in preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies
scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals,
school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly
expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan.
Visit the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education.
About the College of Human Sciences & Education
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and aims to improve quality of life across the
lifespan.