It may not be immediately obvious why this little tree is so amazing, but it is. It’s a two-year old Gaïac that is already in bloom and is quite large for a young seedling of such a slow-growing species. Since it was grown at the waste-water treatment plant near Fresh Pond by Mr. Speetjens, we also have a good opportunity to record the conditions it was grown under and potentially replicate those conditions to speed up our efforts to restore these endangered trees.
Over 300 people of all ages came out to Amuseum Naturalis on Friday to celebrate island heritage and enjoy an evening of music, food, drinks, and photography at the grand opening for the 2016 Heritage Photo Exhibition. The annual Heritage Photo Contest and Exhibition was developed by Les Fruits de Mer as a way to showcase local heritage and photographers, and as an opportunity to create a public dialogue about the unique heritage of the island.
Attendees thronged the museum’s Special Exhibition Room to see the 32 works chosen for display from the 140 submissions for this year’s theme, The Spirit of St. Martin. Additional images were spotlighted in The Spirit of St. Martin slideshow playing in the museum’s theater. Guests also voted for their choice to win the Erika Cannegieter-Smith People’s Choice Award, an annual prize which honors the founder of Be the Change SXM. The winner of the 2016 People’s Choice Award was Francisco López, with a vivid image of children on the pier in Grand Case Bay.
“It was a fantastic night, and it was especially great to see people sharing memories and talking about what heritage means to them, and what’s special about this island’s heritage,” said Mark Yokoyama, co-founder of Les Fruits de Mer and co-curator of Amuseum Naturalis. “This kind of discussion and sharing is exactly what we hope this event will inspire.”
For anyone who missed the opening, the free exhibition will be on view from 4-8pm on Thursday June 30th, the last publicly open day planned for the pop-up Caribbean natural history museum Amuseum Naturalis. Amuseum Naturalis is located at 96 Boulevard de Grand Case in Grand Case. The contest gallery can also be viewed online at https://www.lesfruitsdemer.com/category/spirit-of-st-martin/.
100 articles? Time flies, but there are still infinite stories left to tell about St. Martin’s birds. Here’s a recap so far.
Residents and visitors are invited to celebrate island heritage and the art of photographers of all ages at the 2016 Heritage Photo Exhibition. The Exhibition will present a wide variety of perspectives on St. Martin heritage at its free public opening at Amuseum Naturalis on Friday, June 24th from 6-10pm. The Exhibition will feature images from every entrant in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest, which was developed by Les Fruits de Mer as an annual way to showcase local heritage and photographers, and as an opportunity to create a public dialogue about the island’s heritage.
Over 140 entries were received for the theme of this year’s contest, The Spirit of St. Martin. “Everyone knows that St. Martin has a unique spirit—whether you’re a lifelong resident or a first-time visitor,” said Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “When we chose The Spirit of St. Martin as our theme for 2016, we hoped to see a broad and creative range of interpretation, and we did! It’s really inspiring–every entry shows a different perspective on what makes this place so special. Plus, the Exhibition is a great opportunity to enjoy art created right here on the island.”
The Exhibition will include the first-prize winning image from the overall competition, by Bianca Schladt, and the first-prize winning image from the youth competition, by Luna Valenti. As well, as at least one photo from every participant will be on display so that guests can vote during the opening for their choice for the Erika Cannegieter-Smith People’s Choice Award. This award honors the founder of Be the Change SXM. An awards ceremony will take place during the opening at 9pm. Prizes in all three categories will include not only cash but also a wildlife book, a t-shirt, and a gift certificate to Lagoonies Bistro & Bar.
For anyone who can’t attend the opening night, the Exhibition will also be free for public viewing from 4-8pm on both Sunday June 26 and Thursday June 30th, the last publicly open days planned for the pop-up Caribbean natural history museum Amuseum Naturalis.
Amuseum Naturalis is located at 96 Boulevard de Grand Case in Grand Case. The contest gallery is online at https://www.lesfruitsdemer.com/category/spirit-of-st-martin/.
A Lady of fortune is searching for answers in her glass bowl during Statue by Night of the Caribbean living statues by night in December, 2015. A cultural festival of living statues depicting the traditions, cultural heritage of Sint Maarten and its region. The Caribbean Living statues festival is the first one in its kind in the region, having its primeur on Sint Maarten.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Lady Justice as a living statue commending the work of judges in front of the Court House of Sint Maarten in the Front street. The Court house is one of the most remarkable and oldest Monuments on Sint Maarten. The sky is crystal clear symbolized the transparency of Vrouwe Justitia.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
The chef and owner of Caribbean Blend is a true ambassador for Dutch St. Maarten. Daily, he greets and serves a brand new crowd of customers- straight from the ship- always with a smile.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
A gristly tale, but also a great example of the complexity of ecosystems and how the relationships between organisms keep our living world in balance.
Where else in the world, do you meet a man taking his pig for a walk on a sunday morning?!?! This is the spirit of St. Martin to me: colorful, urban ledgends with a touch of mystery.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Qu’ils soient dans les palmiers, le long de la route ou sur les rochers, il ne se passe pas un jour sans que l’on puisse apercevoir un iguane. En effet, ces reptiles colorés font partie intégrante de la richesse de la faune de St Martin.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
The tabebuia heterophylla, also known as pink trumpet tree, is native to the Caribbean islands. St.Maarten/St.Martin is filled with it. When the trees are in bloom you can see them everywhere, in gardens, alongside roads, and decorating the hills. The gentle soft blooms range from white to pale pink and purple and only last a few days before they fall off. Here I was lucky to catch a hummingbird in its branches, that tiny most energetic of birds that hardly ever alights long enough to take a photo of.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
The kestrel is a small bird of prey. It likes to sit perched on the edge of a roof or like here, on the top of a branch, where it has a clear view of small movements below. We have consistently seen kestrels in the eastern hills near Dawn Beach for the past 10 years.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
The sargassum weed lining our eastern shores is quite beautiful when fresh. It also serves as a foot massage when walking on it. As it dries and rots it attracts flies, so it regularly needs to be collected and disposed of.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Late afternoon flock of brown pelicans flying overhead, so typical for St.Martin/St.Maarten.
This picture was taken from Dawn Beach.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Keepin’ it colorful—and oh so cool.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
In Bird Watch SXM this week we take a dip into the freshwater ecosystems that are so important to many of St. Martin’s birds.
SXM: an island as sundry as its sunset sky.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Picture of abandoned ship in Simpson Bay with Island Saba in the background.
Everything is returned to the earth and this ship will be returned to the sea.
Symbolizes the pure nature of SXM. You can never take that away.
I love this place.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Tout comme ce panneau indiquant des dizaines de villes internationales, Saint-Martin est un mélange de couleurs, de nations, et de religions.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Tout comme notre île cette voiture a deux côtés. Elle représente aussi l’esprit joyeux et festif de Saint-Martin.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Discover the fascinating, largely unknown stories of the incredible women and men who helped to build the scientific heritage of the Caribbean at a special multimedia presentation at the 2016 St. Martin Book Fair. Women, People of Color, and the Making of Natural History in the Caribbean, is free and open to the public and will take place from 11am to 12:30pm on Saturday, June 4th at the University of St. Martin.
The presentation was created as part of an ongoing research, writing and outreach project to shine a light on the lost or unsung work of the women and people of color in the study of Caribbean natural history, from the late 1400s to the early 1900s.
“Their historical contributions to science were often hidden, suppressed, or simply not as well publicized as those of their white male contemporaries,” explains presenter Jenn Yerkes, President of Les Fruits de Mer and co-curator of Amuseum Naturalis. “Many of these trailblazers had to fight slavery, racism, and sexism, and risk perilous journeys, pirates, disease, and dangerous wildernesses to do what they loved; their real lives were more epic, adventurous, heartbreaking, and inspiring than any Hollywood movie.”
Anyone are unable to attend the Book Fair presentation can learn more about some of these amazing individuals in the special exhibit currently on display at Amuseum Naturalis in Grand Case. The museum is open to the public from 4-8pm each Thursday and Sunday throughout the month of June.
Cette mangrove est représentative de Saint-Martin : une toute petite île au milieu de l’océan…
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Frequent Club Gaïac contributor John Speetjens was kind enough to send some images of the Gaïac tree in the botanical garden in Munich. This is the third European specimen he’s spotted in his “heritage uprooted” series. The others were seen in gardens in Amsterdam and Berlin.
L’héritage de Saint-Martin est bien transmis par les régates de bateaux-pays qui se disputent encore de nos jours : le passé dans le présent.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Comme nous le montre cette photo, Saint-Martin est une île qui a un grand coeur.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Grâce à cette photo on peut remarquer que l’esprit du marché de Saint-Martin n’a pas changé malgré les années qui sont passées.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
L’héritage de Saint-Martin, c’est aussi sa dernière plage déserte côté français et les fabuleux points de vue quand on se promène sur les sentiers de randonnée qui parcourent l’île
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Un des plongeoirs improvisé de l’île dans l’esprit de la “friendly island”.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Micromoths are about what you would think they are: tiny moths. Many species can be found on Statia, but they are notoriously difficult to identify.
J’ai pris cette photo lors de la manifestation « ARROW ROOT JOLLIFICATION » à Colombier
Pour moi elle représente bien l’esprit de Saint-Martin car l’esprit c’est ce qui fonde un pays, son histoire, son patrimoine matériel et immatériel. Au premier plan des pierres sèches, marqueurs historiques. Un champ de dictame ou arrow root où des hommes dans leurs diversités, comme autrefois replantent à la main les jeunes pousses témoin de la solidarité saint-martinoise. Les voitures en arrière plan soulignent la modernité pour mieux révéler la tradition.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Sunset
Sunset behind the hill
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Sailor spirit
Sailor spirit in St. Martin
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Silhouettes
The spirit of St. Martin is hanging out at the beach too.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Metaphor of life
Metaphor for the spirit of life as a way to walk together.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Cloudy sky
Pretty cloudy sky over the beach of Grand Case
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Canvas clouds
Swimming under a clouds canvas.
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Looking towards the horizon
We live looking towards the horizon
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
The Spirit of St Martin can be found in its youth. St Martin has incredible talent !!
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
The Spirit of St Martin : warm waters with hidden gems (no conch was harmed for this picture, It is back in the sea)
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
Transmission
From parents to children and grandchildren
This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.
