On this day, we wish to share some encouraging news.

Working in partnership with residents from the neighborhood of Gentilly, Levees.org will soon unveil the first ever Open-air Levee Exhibit and Garden in New Orleans.

The exhibit and garden will be installed on a now-empty lot at the site of the London Avenue Canal where flood walls–designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–cracked open in a moderate amount of surge during Hurricane Katrina.

The Open-air Levee Exhibit and Garden will be a memorial to the trauma of the levee breaches, a commemoration of a pivotal moment in American history, and a symbol of the residents’ determination to return.

At a minimum, it will transform an illegal dump into a thing of beauty for the neighbors nearby.