University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Cypress Lake is a treasured campus landmark. It is a carefully controlled and delicate wetland teeming with plants and wildlife such as bass, catfish, red-ear turtles, blue herons, and, of course, alligators.

UL Lafayette was the first university in the country with such a wetland on campus.

Students at UL Lafayette have the greatest classroom in the world for learning about wetland ecosystems and management—Cypress Lake.

By observing, examining, and engaging with this environment, students understand the balance of nature and what humans can do to protect it—and help it thrive.

Every year students, faculty, and staff gather for canoe races in Cypress Lake during Lagniappe Week. Two per canoe, they paddle as quickly as they can through the water, around the cypress trees, and back to shore.