Member Activities – Association Les Fruits de Mer

Free BirdSleuth Caribbean Training Offered to Teachers and Youth Group Leaders

Mark Yokoyama — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 15:15:34 +0000

BirdSleuth Caribbean is a bird-based education program made for the Caribbean.

Everyone loves birds. They are majestic and inspiring. They are dedicated parents. Their sweet songs fill the air with life. They’re also a great way to learn about nature and science.

“Imagine a school class having fun and learning about biology by playing a game of Bird Bingo or Habitat Scavenger Hunt,” said Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “We’re excited to make that possible by offering a free training program for teachers and educators. It can be used in the classroom and outdoors and it was made for the Caribbean.”

Binkie van Es leads a BirdSleuth activity at the Endemic Animal Festival. (Photo: Agnes Etchegoyen)

BirdSleuth Caribbean is a set of fun lessons and activities that uses birds to teach youth about nature and science. BirdSleuth Caribbean has been specially adapted for the region, so kids learn about the birds and habitats that they can see around them. It’s designed for students 9-13 years old. The program contains lessons, activities and learning games that can be done in the classroom and outdoors.

Les Fruits de Mer will be hosting free training in the BirdSleuth program with instructor Binkie van Es. Participants will enjoy hands-on training and receive materials to bring back to their class or youth group. On each training day, 4-5 different games and activities will be taught.

Amuseum Naturalis has indoor and outdoor space for BirdSleuth activities.

“It’s an amazing feeling to see kids fall in love with birds and science through the BirdSleuth program,” explained BirdSleuth instructor Binkie van Es. “Birds are the perfect gateway to a love of nature and a passion for learning. The activities are a lot of fun for teachers, too!”

The training will be at Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House on two Saturdays: September 22 and Sept 29, from 9am-1pm. It will be bilingual in English and French. It is free, and lunch will be served after each training session. If you are interested, please contact info@lesfruitsdemer.com to reserve your spot in the free training.

9th Annual Tacousteau

Mark Yokoyama — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 18:53:20 +0000

Thanks to everyone who came to the 9th annual Tacousteau. It’s hard to believe we’ve celebrated tacos and Jacques Cousteau films for so many years! Special thanks to Tim for sharing his photos with us!

Endemic Animal Festival 2015 in Pictures

Mark Yokoyama — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 15:32:02 +0000

The Endemic Animal Festival was a huge success this year and we will be sharing more about the event in the coming days as we recover and unpack, but first some wonderful images from Marc Petrelluzzi. Also, a huge thank you to all the volunteers, the event couldn’t have happened without you, and it wouldn’t have been amazing if you weren’t amazing!

Endemic Animal Festival 2015 Photos:

EAF 2015: Getting Ready

Mark Yokoyama — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 19:51:48 +0000

Things are looking good for the upcoming Endemic Animal Festival! On Saturday we got together with a few of the volunteers to work out some of the planning and activities and enjoy the beautiful coastal scrub at Seaside Nature Park. Our “preview event” with volunteers is a fun tradition that helps us make sure we’re organized for the actual event and also gives volunteers a chance to experience some of the activities, because they are often too busy to do so at the event. Without our amazing volunteers, none of what we do would be possible!

We’ll be releasing more info soon about the activities at this year’s festival, including a great new project related to the “Restore Habitats, Restore Birds” theme of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival, which includes dozens of events in the region, including ours. For now, enjoy some photos from Saturday and don’t forget to share the event info and invite friends on Facebook.

Happy Bay Nature Walk

Mark Yokoyama — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 00:52:26 +0000

This morning we went on a nature walk to see the birds and other animals that live on the island. We were able to see many species that are endemic to the region or have a regional sub-species, like the Zenaida Dove, Carib Grackle, Black-faced Grassquit and Caribbean Elaenia. It was also just a lot of fun to take a walk and see how the local critters are doing in the scrub and around a couple ponds. Thanks to everyone who came!