Nature’s Footsteps – Humans can plan and build, but Mother Nature every so often reclaims what’s hers. This is a section of Orient Bay Beach that once housed restaurants and bars. Now, nature has reclaimed it … until humans again decide to take a claim. But, as the saying goes – “Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret” (You can drive nature out with a pitchfork, but she always comes back!).

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Watching the recovery of the hillside’s nature. If God clothes the hills with such beauty, He’ll surely take care of you.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

“I’m still standing” famous local landmark in Dutch side stay strong and firm after strong hurricane #courthouse 🍍 #SXMstandStrong 💪🏼

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Grand Case: brand new life for everyone

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Gallion Beach lagoon: one of the last palmtrees fight for its survival
#sxmstrongnature

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

From roots to hilltop – It’s green from the old trees in the valley to the top of Sentry Hill, the highest point on the Dutch side of the island. The revitalization of what was the crumbling boiler house into a restaurant has added to the feeling of hope following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The inaccessible is now accessible and that made bare thrives again.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

The sun sets just to come up again the next day! Mullet Bay

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Houses and buildings may be down, but seascapes and shorelines are proud to rise up from devastation. Islanders should be thankful for this gift. Cleaning and rebuilding will take a while but st martiners will succeed to honor what opportunity nature keeps offering them.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

“Sailboats and City lights”
Let’s Bring back the Life and happines of Simpson Bay lagoon and set sail again #sxmStrong

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

A gentle shower painting its hues across St Martin Lagoon this morning.
The haze of colour both hides and reveals the torn architecture.
Yet our eyes track the rainbow, and feel it in our senses of hope, renewal and rebirth.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

The sun sets just to come up again the next day! Mullet Bay

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Celebration of rebirth on the wild coast of French St Martin, wilder, brighter, cleaner than ever.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Rebirth: Return of Velvet
The breeze caressing the velvety-looking grass is an inspiring sight. It’s nature’s own ballet. Every December, this grass blankets the hillsides and to see it return after Irma’s wrath is both overwhelmingly emotional and hearteningly strengthening.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Rebuilding
Under the sunrays, we rebuilding one roof at a time.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

The island is greener than ever, nature cycle has caught up with what it was before Irma, even stronger. Another proof that nature makes it faster than us to show us an example we should follow.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Gently stepping into a brighter future, one step at a time. It’s a balancing act!

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Waves are a constant in life, they are always there. Mullet Bay!

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Nature digesting human impact while surfers keep going with their passion to overcome Irma’s impact.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Picturesque SXM
We sail again. Quietly sailing on a picturesque SXM day.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

A short time after Irma new life came up in a fallen broken palmtree… nature was rebuilding itself way faster then us humans….

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

A little bit of Orange to represent his Dutch heritage, but “he from here”.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Two young stallions friends playing primitive games , showing animals and nature are recovering faster than human, spending time at being what they are meant to be instead of fixing roof to go back to normal. St Martin December 16th.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

A beautiful desert rose simbolizing renewal in the mist of rebuilding. SXM Strong.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Washes all worries away! Mullet Bay

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Beautiful SXM
Pre-and-post storm, St Maarten/St Martin remains beautiful. Natural Beauty.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

The wave is washing a way the old and bringing the new! Tintamarre

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Welcome to SXM
Welcome back to St Maarten after the storm. Down but not out. Back on track.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

I put a shell on a pile of rocks because I feel one with the ocean more than the land! Where the shell guy was. (I don’t remember the name)

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Almon’ gonna reach for the sky! This almond tree sprouting a crop of new leaves two weeks after Hurricane Irma slammed on to island gave me heart. It made me stop and admire Mother Nature for her force that snap off the branches scattered are tree’s base and for her gentleness to call on the survivors to regrow, reach … be reborn.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Sunshine
The beginning of a new day. Rays of hope.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

There’s more time to share your interpretation of Rebirth. The deadline for the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest has been extended to December 31st to allow more people to share their photography and ideas about the island.

The Heritage Photo Contest and Exhibition was developed by Les Fruits de Mer to showcase local photography, and to engage residents—especially kids—in thinking about their heritage.

The theme of this year’s contest is Rebirth. It was chosen to inspire entrants to explore the nature, culture and people of this unique island through the lens of recovery and reinvention. Dozens of photos have been submitted so far this year, featuring animals, landscapes, historical buildings, local events and much more.

“There are some amazing images and stories in the online gallery for the 2017 contest,” says Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “We’re excited to see so many different ideas about what rebirth looks like, so we’re giving folks a little extra time to contribute.”

The contest is free and open to every age, and everyone is welcome to enter as many times as they like. People who want to enter should submit their entries to [email protected] by December 31, 2017. Each entry should include an original photo taken on St. Martin/St. Maarten by the person entering, a brief statement explaining why the photo was chosen, the entrant’s full name, and age if under 18.

All qualifying entries will go on display in the online Heritage Gallery, and selected entries will be featured in the Heritage Photo Exhibition, which will be held this winter. Awards will be given for the winning entries in three categories: Adult, Under 18 and People’s Choice.

For more information about the Heritage Photo Contest and Exhibition, including the full rules and a sample entry, visit: https://www.lesfruitsdemer.com/category/rebirth/

Elle a disparu, rayé de la carte…
On espère qu’elle renaîtra, encore plus belle qu’elle ne l’était.

Photo prise avant Irma. #remember

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning, that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.

Shot taken in Nettle bay, in the destroyed homes ..

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Tu n’es pas tout seul l’ami.

Cette route est une des plus belles routes de Saint Martin. La route de la Baie Lucas longe le bord de la mer, et cette zone est entièrement sous réserve naturelle, il n’y a donc quasiment aucune construction et la nature y est sauvage.

Photo prise avant Irma. #remember

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Un endroit beaucoup bien reposant, l’observatoire des baleines.
Cette image est ma première tentative de photo des étoiles ! Ce qui est vraiment cool, c’est qu’une voiture à fait demi-tour, éclairant l’observatoire comme il le fallait !
Si vous aimez la nature, les belles couleurs, le calme, cet endroit est un must !

Photo prise avant Irma. #remember

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

“La vie va renaître ! on s’y emploie !”
Cette photo montre que la nature reprend toujours le dessus même après les pires catastrophes naturelles.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Shot taken of kids in Sandy Ground. The look in their eye says it all. The future is in the hand of our future generations and we shall do anything to make their life as easy as possible.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Oyster Pond´s Rebirth : SALVAGING

After a major hurricane cat 5++ nature started its rebirth and with each day we could witness that our beloved island became green again. With each boat that was salvaged the marina became cleaner, with each crane the process was quicker and with each barge the salvaging went faster.

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

J’ai pris cette photo en rentrant du travail. Je me demandais “À quoi peut bien ressembler Quartier depuis le haut de cette antenne ?”. Ni une ni deux, je me suis arrêter et j’ai grimper là-haut pour voir ça. La gendarmerie c’est arrêté quelque minute après, j’ai bien failli avoir beaucoup d’ennuis ce jour ci ! Mais pas de regret, je voulais voir Quartier de ce point de vue absolument avant mon départ.
On espère que Quartier d’Orléans retrouvera toutes ses couleurs. Pour la joie de vivre des habitants, je sais qu’elle sera toujours présente !

Photo prise avant Irma. #remember

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Photo prise en haut de la colline Red Rock. On peut voir le spot de surf connu “Wilderness” ainsi qu’un bout de la plage des Petites Cayes.
Je me souviendrai de cette marche à vie, les herbes mesuraient entre 1 et 2 mètres de haut, et nous avions dû marcher à travers pendant plusieurs heures pour se rendre sur cette pointe là !

Photo prise avant Irma. #remember

This is an entry in the 2017 Heritage Photo Contest. Our theme this year is Rebirth. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.