Families, couples and food lovers braved the New Orleans heat to sample hundreds of wines, enjoy live jazz performances and taste food from some of the best restaurants in New Orleans at the 19th Annual New Orleans Wine & Food Experience.

The impact of the oil spill on the wildlife has become a major concern as oil continues to gush from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, damaging their homes. And as reports of oiled birds, turtles and other animals begin to come into the Deepwater Horizon Response Joint Information Center, rescue centers throughout the Gulf are preparing for an influx of activity.

In a small area of the Lower Ninth Ward, uncertainty about whether residents will rebuild the hundreds of homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina has morphed into a debate over how it should be done.

I knew this institute would give me the opportunity to do things I’d never done before, but I must have glanced over the “aerial acrobatics” clause in the paperwork.

The only bird I can name off the top of my head is a pigeon. In my defense, I am from New York City where most wildlife is viewed from a safe distance in one of our zoos. So when some sort of animal that isn’t someone’s pet gets too close to me, I get suspicious of its intentions and a “freak-out” is imminent.

To the untrained eye, the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the marshlands of Southern Louisiana might not be easily recognizable from the air. But one look at the oil-stained sand dunes about 20 miles from Venice, La., and the reality of the ever-encroaching oil becomes apparent.

With stomachs full and sweaters unpacked to help endure an intensely air-conditioned classroom, 18 NYT Institute students attended a workshop about using the Internet to integrate multimedia and interactive material into news reports.