200 meters (actually 200 metres for everyone except poor Americans like me who barely know what a metre is) doesn’t seem like a whole lot. But if you’re talking altitude—and we are—it is a pretty big deal around here. Take a trip upward in the latest Wild Statia:
The event offers a full array of fun designed for kids, families, and people of all ages, including an endemic wildlife walk with a native animal checklist, free native animal activity books, and a variety of wildlife-themed art activities.
Festival-goers can get an up-close look at St. Martin’s native wildlife at the Endemic Animal Discovery Station, where experts will be on hand to talk about the live endemic animals on display and answer questions. A Bird Observation Station staffed by a professional birding guide will be set up on the Great Salt Pond next to the Zoo, where attendees can learn to use a variety of birdwatching scopes and binoculars to spot native birds and other wetland wildlife. At the Art Station’s craft workshop, children will enjoy creating their own endemic animal crowns to become kings and queens of the Festival.
Admission to the zoo will be free for all ages during the event, and guests are invited to see what’s new, including a ten-panel installation of signage telling the story of St. Martin’s native animals. “The story of our native animals, particularly those that can only be seen on St. Martin, is one the most fascinating things we can share about our natural heritage,” explains Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama. “It encompasses some of the most important concepts in biology, but it is also very specific to this one tiny island where people and nature are living together.”
While this year’s festival is the third Endemic Animal Festival on St. Martin, it is the first to be held at the St. Maarten Zoo. With new native animal signage and a variety of new native plants and trees, the zoo is developing its potential as a botanical garden and a space to observe native animals. This Sunday will also feature the launch of the completely renovated petting zoo, and a sneak preview of the new Monkey Bar, which will offer a special mini-menu of savory panini, barbecue, salads, snacks, and drinks at the Festival.
“Don’t forget to bring your camera,” reminds Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “In addition to all the free, fun Festival activities, we’ll also be announcing the theme for this year’s Heritage Photo Contest. You can even start working on your entries at the event!”
The third annual Endemic Animal Festival takes place from 9am-noon on Sunday, April 24th at the St. Maarten Zoo on Arch Road in Madame Estate. The event is open to the public and completely free, thanks to the generous support of the 2016 sponsors: Buccaneer Beach Bar, Calmos Cafe, Delta Petroleum, Hotel L’Esplanade, Lagoonies Bistro and Bar, Loterie Farm and Tri-Sport. For more information, visit: https://www.lesfruitsdemer.com or find Les Fruits de Mer on Facebook.
While we were shooting some video for an Endemic Animal Festival preview film we also stopped on the pondfill and captured a bit of what’s happening down a the Great Salt Pond. Here’s 20 seconds on the pond:
One of the most important aspects of our wildlife discovery events is the fact that they are always 100% free. We believe the wonders of the island’s natural heritage belong to everyone, and we love being able to share them. At each event, our generous sponsors are the ones who make this possible, providing all the funding for our events so we can make them totally free. This year, we have seven fantastic sponsors, many of which have been supporting Les Fruits de Mer for years. Thank you!!!
Buccaneer Beach Bar
Conveniently located on Kim Sha Beach, Buccaneer Beach Bar is a friendly watering hole for locals and visitors alike. Relax in the glow of the fireballs on Friday and Sunday evenings, or bring the whole family on Fridays for kids movies on the beach.
http://buccaneerbeachbar.com
Calmos Cafe
Located on the beach in Grand Case, St. Martin, Calmos Cafe is a restaurant and bar serving great food in a friendly, casual atmosphere seven days a week. Calmos Cafe has been a benefactor member of Les Fruits de Mer since 2013 and has sponsored many Les Fruits de Mer events.
http://lecalmoscafe.com
Delta Petroleum
Founded in 1985, Delta serves the Caribbean with superior performance diesel, gasoline and LPG meeting U.S. and European standards. Delta is a proud and growing member of the communities from the Virgin Islands to Martinique. Delta Petroleum was a sponsor of Birds & Bugs 2013.
http://deltapetroleum.com
Hotel L’Esplanade
This hotel has established a cult following from guests that enjoy an authentic, luxurious, unpretentious and un-touristy Caribbean experience with a homey feel. Acknowledged by TripAdvisor as one of the Caribbean’s “Best Hidden Gems”, and more recently named #19 of the top 25 hotels in all of the Caribbean. Hotel L’Esplanade has been a benefactor member since 2013 and has sponsored many Les Fruits de Mer events.
http://www.lesplanade.com
Lagoonies Bistro and Bar
Lagoonies Bistro and Bar serves food that is crazy good for breakfast, lunch and dinner and hosts some of the hottest live music on the island several nights a week. Located at Lagoon Marina in Cole Bay, they are easily accessible by land or sea.
Lagoonies Bistro and Bar
Loterie Farm
Loterie Farm is a private nature reserve on the western slope of Pic Paradis. The 54-hectare property includes broadleaf forest as well as the remains of historical buildings dating back to the 18th century. Loterie Farm aims to safeguard both the history and the environment while also sharing these unique natural surroundings with the public. One of the most ecologically significant sites on St. Martin, Loterie Farm has hosted a great deal of biological research, including ongoing studies of birds and other animals. Loterie Farm offers hiking and zip-lining as well as a gourmet restaurant, lounge, and spring-fed swimming pool.
http://loteriefarm.com
Tri-Sport
Tri-Sport is the go-to shop for the active community of St. Maarten/St. Martin and the neighboring islands of Anguilla, Saba, Statia, and St. Barths. They run ecologically-friendly tours that get people out and moving – kayaking, bicycling, hiking, boogie boarding, and snorkeling. Tri-Sport’s retail shops carry all the necessities for triathlons with an emphasis on bicycles.
http://trisportsxm.com
Check out the preview video for the 2016 Endemic Animal Festival. The event is going to be a lot of fun and there’s just one week to go. Mark your calendars for Sunday, April 24th from 9am to noon and head out to the St. Maarten Zoo to learn about these amazing animals. Check out the festival page and the event on Facebook where you can invite your friends.
Tune in to 102.7FM from 5-6pm this evening and listen to Voice of Our Children, a radio show hosted by local youth. Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama is the guest this week and they discuss Caribbean birds, BirdsCaribbean and the upcoming Endemic Animal Festival.
In preparation for the upcoming 2016 Endemic Animal Festival, Les Fruits de Mer has released a free eBook—Eye on Endemics: Caribbean Originals— featuring full-color photos and fascinating info about some of the captivating lizards, birds, and insects found only on this island or only in our region. The book is available for free download on the association’s website, https://www.lesfruitsdemer.com. The Festival itself will take place on Sunday, April 24th from 9am to noon at the St. Maarten Zoo in Madame Estate.
The free eBook is a companion piece to the association’s third annual Endemic Animal Festival, and was designed to be downloaded not just onto computers and laptops, but also onto smartphones and tablets to identify endemic species on the go, explains Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “The Festival is a chance to get up close with the animals that are unique to our island and area, while the eBook gives people a more in-depth look at some specific endemics, including local names. You can use it as a mobile tool–it even tells you where to look for the different species we spotlighted!”
Many of these species will be featured at this year’s Endemic Animal Festival, which will include an Endemic Animal Discovery Station, native animal activity books, guided wildlife walks, and art activities related to endemic animals. This year the Festival will be held at the St. Maarten Zoo to showcase the new series of native animal panels created by Les Fruits de Mer, funded by SXM DOET and Be the Change SXM, and installed by a team of volunteers from Les Fruits de Mer, SXM DOET and St. Maarten Zoo.
“The 2016 Festival is the perfect way to officially launch this project to weave the story of St. Martin’s natural heritage into the landscape of the zoo,” says Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama, “We’d like to invite everyone to come out to enjoy the zoo, see the new panels, and have a great time at the Festival!”
The April 24th Festival is free and open to the public, and is made possible by the generosity of event sponsors Buccaneer Beach Bar, Calmos Cafe, Delta Petroleum, Hotel L’Esplanade, Lagoonies Bistro and Bar, Loterie Farm and Tri-Sport. For more information about the event, or to download the free Eye on Endemics: Caribbean Originals eBook, visit https://www.lesfruitsdemer.com or find Les Fruits de Mer on Facebook.
We’re quite excited to have our upcoming Endemic Animal Festival featured in Le Bon Air, the in-flight magazine of Air Antilles. Or, I guess I should say Festival des Animaux Endémiques!
Wild Statia takes a second look at the wealth of information presented in the recent Journal of Caribbean Ornithology article about Statia. In addition to compiling records of species never seen on the island before, the article also shares data on populations that have been changing in recent years. The full article from the JCO is available as well.
It started with a chance discovery and a quirk of Caribbean biological research. During the development of their free pop-up natural history museum, Amuseum Naturalis, members of Les Fruits de Mer found a cache of antique biological specimens in the attic of the building and a product was born: Rhum Biologique.
“Strong rum was the fluid of choice for early naturalists to preserve their plant and animal specimens before rubbing alcohol and formaldehyde were readily available in the Caribbean,” explained museum curator Mark Yokoyama. “We realized these specimens were over 100 years old—and so was the rum. No matter what’s floating in it, you don’t skip the chance to taste a rum that old.”
The Amuseum team found the century-old specimen-infused rum surprisingly palatable, and it quickly became the inspiration for Amusuem Naturalis Rhum Biologique. The team immediately started using high-proof white rums to preserve their own specimens on display at the museum, which have served a dual purpose as Rhum Biologique test flavors.
“Flavored rums are a Caribbean cultural tradition, and we’re excited to literally infuse that with a touch of natural history,” said Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “It took some experimentation to come up with the best flavor and aroma profiles, but what we developed is both delicious and captures the spirit of St. Martin. You can really taste the natural heritage!”
Amuseum Naturalis Rhum Biologique is infused by an artisanal, small-batch process, and is currently available in three flavors: Arthropoda, Reptilia, and Poecilia. All three recipes are based on invasive animal species—harvesting for production is not only sustainable, but benefits native species. Reptilia is primarily flavored with Green Iguana, and Poecilia is Guppy-based. Arthropoda infuses a proprietary mix of eleven bugs and spiders.
The official launch party for Rhum Biologique is open to the public and will be held at Amuseum Naturalis on Tuesday, April 5th from 6-10pm. More information can be found at http://rhumbiologique.com.
There’s so much we have yet to learn about even the most common species we are living with. Hopefully local biologists will be the ones to fill in the gaps in the coming years.
In this week’s Wild Statia, we take a look at a recent publication collecting records of new bird species sighted on Statia. You can access the original article for free at the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology.
The desire to see ourselves in birds is powerful. They do lots of “human” stuff. Seeing them as versions of us doesn’t necessarily help us understand them better, but feeling the commonality does bring us closer to nature.
Here’s a short video about the project we just did with SXM DOET and Be the Change SXM at the St. Maarten Zoo:
Yesterday we took part in a fantastic project to add native animal signage to the St. Maarten Zoo. The Zoo is a favorite spot for local and visiting kids and families. It’s also a space where many of our native animal species can be seen, including some that are only found in our region. We think it is a wonderful place to showcase education about native species, where it has the potential to impact both residents and tourists and make a visit to the zoo more engaging and rewarding.
We had lots of help with this project, from the Zoo, from Be the Change SXM, which funded the sign printing and from SXM DOET and all the volunteers that participated in the installation. If you’re interested in supporting or participating in projects like this, feel free to contact us. More importantly, consider joining Be the Change SXM to support other great projects on this island and sign up to volunteer in next year’s SXM DOET.
The Zebra Longwing is one of Statia’s most beautiful and captivating butterflies. It also has a truly amazing life history with plenty of surprising details.
Our three egret species nest together in large colonies, but changes to St. Martin’s wetlands have kept some of these colonies on the move.
We are working on a very cool project to improve the zoo by creating signage telling the story of St. Martin’s native animals. It’s a story we want to tell to the local kids who visit the school and also a chance to share something unique and authentic about St. Martin with the tourists that visit. We encourage folks to make a donation this month—or even better—make a recurring monthly donation. It’s the easiest way to help a variety of non-profits create positive change on St. Martin. Visit Be the Change SXM to find out more and to contribute.
We are also excited to work with SXM DOET to install the signage at the Zoo. DOET is an awesome volunteer initiative done throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands and you can learn more about our project here.
It is impossible to say when the study of wildlife on Statia became essentially modern, but Voous publication on birds in the early 1950s is as good a marker as any.
Island residents and tourists of all ages are invited to the free grand opening of the exhibit Women, People of Color, and the Making of Natural History in the Caribbean, on Tuesday, February 9 from 6-10pm at Amuseum Naturalis in Grand Case.
The exhibit is a special series at Amuseum Naturalis, created to shine a light on the contributions of women and people of color in the study of natural history in the Caribbean, from the 1600s to the early 1900s. The exhibit brings their discoveries, explorations and stories to life with vivid biographical snapshots and reproductions of beautiful historical zoological and botanical illustrations, engravings, portraits and maps.
“The historical contributions of women and people of color to science have often been hidden, suppressed, or simply not as well publicized as those of their white male contemporaries, and this is just as true in the Caribbean as elsewhere,” explains Jenn Yerkes, Amuseum Naturalis co-curator and Les Fruits de Mer President. “We wanted to create an opportunity for people to discover the fascinating stories of these incredible women and men who helped to build the scientific heritage of the Caribbean.”
Women, People of Color, and the Making of Natural History in the Caribbean will be on display in the special exhibit hall of Amuseum Naturalis, Les Fruits de Mer’s free pop-up museum of natural history located at 96 Boulevard de Grand Case. Amuseum Naturalis is open to the public on Tuesdays during the Mardis de Grand Case street fair, and is sponsored by Delta Petroleum.
We want to send out a special thank you this morning to Seagrape Tours, a local company doing nature tours on St. Martin. They set aside $2 from every guest to support local non-profits working with nature and conservation, including Les Fruits de Mer and Nature Foundation St. Maarten. They came by Amuseum Naturalis on Tuesday to drop off a donation of $150!
Obviously, this is great for our association, which depends primarily on donations and sponsorships to create wildlife education experiences like our festivals, museum and free publications. It also shows how three basic elements can strengthen and reinforce each other in the interest of preserving our natural heritage. Les Fruits de Mer is focused on education, with the aim of stimulating interest in and passion for nature. Nature Foundation St. Maarten works to protect the local environment and manage protected areas. Seagrape Tours is creating an economic incentive to preserve nature and use it in a sustainable way. We believe all three components are complementary and necessary parts of the conservation process and crucial to the future of the island.
World Wetlands day is February 2nd, Valentine’s Day is February 14th. This time of year, many of our wetland birds are finding a way to celebrate both events.
What can we learn about Statian wildlife and the history of Statian natural history studies from a museum collection thousands of kilometers away? Quite a bit, in fact!
If you watched Scrub Island Rescue, you may have noticed that Les Fruits de Mer finally has its official theme song. If you just can’t get enough of it, we are releasing it as a ringtone. Download it today!
Les Fruits de Mer Ringtone, MP3
Les Fruits de Mer Ringtone, M4R for iPhone
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you can watch it on our Films page.
One other event of note that happened at Amuseum Naturalis was a birth. In fact, a lot of them. A shrimp that has had a large cluster of eggs under her tail for the past couple weeks gave birth to a bajillion tiny shrimplets. The shrimplets were about as big as grains of sand, so it was a little tricky to photograph them, but here are a few shots of them and their proud mom.
After the mad rush to get open on the 12th, we took a week to refine our first set of exhibits and things were really looking great when we opened for the Mardis de Grand Case street fair last night. I popped by this morning to take a few photos of this version of the museum. If you haven’t come by to check it out yet, you can get an idea of what we have in our main exhibition hall and special exhibit room right now: Gut Life, To the Bat Cave!, The Tree of Life, Shadow of a Drought, The Shell Collector, Team Clean, and Women, People of Color and the Making of Natural History in the Caribbean.
Well, we’re only a couple weeks into 2016 and I’ve already failed at my bird-related resolution for this year. On the other hand, the article just came out in yesterday’s Weekender, so maybe I can get started this week.
I just wanted to thank Destination St. Martin/St. Maarten Magazine for giving us the chance to tell the story of the island’s fascinating wetland birds in the 2016 issue. Wildlife—at least of the animal sort—may not be the first thing on people’s minds when they think of St. Martin, but the nature of the island is a fascinating and unique part of what the island has to offer and we love to share our passion for it.
Hundreds of island residents and visitors poured into 96 Boulevard de Grand Case on Tuesday evening during the first Mardi de Grand Case for the grand opening of Amuseum Naturalis. Amuseum Naturalis is a free, public pop-up museum showcasing the natural history of St. Martin and the Caribbean, created by the Les Fruits de Mer association. Locals and tourists of all ages are invited to discover captivating natural history displays, biological curiosities, marvels of nature, spectacular specimens, live wildlife displays, a theater showing wildlife films, and more, throughout high season 2016 in this one-of-a-kind exhibition space.
Christian Papaliolios, President and General Director of Delta Petroleum, the sponsor of Amuseum Naturalis, officially opened the museum with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6pm on Tuesday, accompanied by Mardis de Grand Case organizer Chantal Vernusse, and Les Fruits de Mer officers and volunteers. The space for the temporary museum was donated for the 2016 high season to the Les Fruits de Mer association by Papaliolios and Delta Petroleum.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have been given the opportunity to bring Amuseum Naturalis to life, and see everybody enjoying it,” said Mark Yokoyama, Les Fruits de Mer co-founder and Amuseum co-curator. “It would not have been possible without all the hard work of our awesome volunteers, who came together to help create this incredible place, building and painting display tables and benches, and putting together these amazing exhibitions,” added the Amuseum’s other co-curator, Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes.
On display now at Amuseum Naturalis are exhibits on St. Martin’s bats, the endangered native Gaïac tree, insects that help keep the island clean, and “Gut Life: the Fascinating Freshwater Ecosystems of St. Martin.” The Amuseum’s special exhibits room is currently featuring an exclusive show of stunning original photographs and text from the photo essay Shadow of a Drought by nature photographer Yokoyama, highlighting the effects of drought on key St. Martin wetlands. Also on view is the first installment of “Women, People of Color, and the Making of Natural History in the Caribbean,” a unique series that reveals and celebrates the often hidden, suppressed, or not widely known historical contributions of women and people of color to the study of Caribbean flora and fauna.
“We hope everyone will stop by every Tuesday during Mardis de Grand Case to see what’s happening at the Amuseum,” said Yerkes. “We’ll have new wonders every week!”
The force is not the only thing that needs balancing. The recent drought and subsequent rains have brought the return of the caterpillars and a great disturbance in the trees, as if millions of leaves were suddenly eaten. Will they rule the island and turn it into a barren wasteland? There are some birds that might find your lack of faith disturbing.
Wild Statia takes a look at the often heard, but seldom seen, visitors from North America. Who’s hiding in the Quill this year?
Once again, we thank local and regional media for helping us share what we do with the people of St. Martin and the Caribbean. Here’s a round-up of some of our post-event press features.
The Daily Herald, December 2015
SXM Fax Info, December 2015
Le Pélican, December 2015
Today Newspaper, December 2015
Over 400 people attended the second Birds & Bugs event on Sunday at Loterie Farm to learn more about the birds and invertebrates living in the tropical broadleaf forest on St. Martin. Activities included interacting with live insects, going on guided birding tours and creating “bugs” out of natural materials. Birds & Bugs 2015 was presented by the Les Fruits de Mer association in partnership with Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) and Loterie Farm.
“The turnout was fantastic—our best-attended event so far, and perhaps the biggest wildlife education event in the history of the island,” reported Jenn Yerkes, President of Les Fruits de Mer. “Our amazing experts and volunteers worked hard to make this event a real success for everybody!”
The Bug Discovery Station was a busy attraction, featuring a Caterpillar Corner and a fascinating array of live insects and spiders, from walking sticks and beetles to a Tarantula Hawk Wasp and a tarantula. There was even a Souliga Wall Crab Spider, which is only found on St. Martin. The station also included an area where guests could try their hand at identifying a variety of species with the help of guidebooks, magnifying glasses and a microscope. Many guests came to the event with questions about the caterpillars that are currently particularly abundant on Flamboyant trees.
The art activity station was abuzz with kids and adults having fun creating strange new forms of bug life from natural materials at the Build-A-Bug Workshop. These crazy critters were constructed in all shapes and sizes and could be made into clips or refrigerator magnets to take home.
Hundreds of visitors took guided walks in the forest with professional bird guide and local bird expert Binkie van Es, where they also had a unique chance to learn about bird banding from EPIC’s President Natalia Collier and Senior Biologist Adam Brown. EPIC has been banding birds for research at Loterie Farm for 15 years. Although the wet weather was not ideal for birding, guests had the opportunity to visit with the bird researchers and find out about the tropical broadleaf forest, a rare and important habitat that covers only a small part of the island.
At EPIC’s Bird Education Station, hosted by Environmental Educator Laura Bijnsdorp, 100 kids played a Bird Bingo birdwatching game for prizes. Les Fruits de Mer’s Club Gaïac native tree replanting project introduced a new crowd-sourced experiment, distributing dozens of free seed kits with instructions for testing different seed preparation methods at home to increase germination rates.
Les Fruits de Mer’s next public project will be a series of free, fun wildlife presentations at Mardis de Grand Case, every Tuesday evening in Grand Case starting January 12th.
Birds & Bugs 2015 was a free, public Wildlife Discovery Event hosted by Les Fruits de Mer in partnership with EPIC and Loterie Farm. Birds & Bugs 2015 was sponsored by Buccaneer Beach Bar, Delta Petroleum, Hotel L’Esplanade, Island Mattress, St. Martin Voyages and Tri-Sport. For more information about Les Fruits de Mer, visit: www.lesfruitsdemer.com or stop by their booth at Mardis de Grand Case.
Here’s my last batch of photos from Birds & Bugs, feel free to share yours on Facebook or email some to [email protected]. Also, get ready for some pretty exciting stuff in the new year. We will take a couple days off—maybe—and then start planning for Mardis de Grand Case, every Tuesday evening for 12 weeks staring on January 12th.
Our Birds & Bugs wrap-up wouldn’t be complete without a shout out to our sponsors. Like all our events, Birds & Bugs is totally free and the only way that can happen is through the generosity of our sponsors, who foot the bill for all our supplies and expenses. Thank you!!!
Buccaneer Beach Bar
Conveniently located on Kim Sha Beach, Buccaneer Beach Bar is a friendly watering hole for locals and visitors alike. Relax in the glow of the fireballs on Friday and Sunday evenings, or bring the whole family on Fridays for kids movies on the beach.
http://buccaneerbeachbar.com
Delta Petroleum
Founded in 1985, Delta serves the Caribbean with superior performance diesel, gasoline and LPG meeting U.S. and European standards. Delta is a proud and growing member of the communities from the Virgin Islands to Martinique. Delta Petroleum has been a sponsor of many of our events.
http://deltapetroleum.com
Hotel L’Esplanade
This hotel has established a cult following from guests that enjoy an authentic, luxurious, unpretentious and un-touristy Caribbean experience with a homey feel. Recognized by TripAdvisor as one of the Caribbean’s “Best Hidden Gems”, and recently named #19 of the top 25 hotels in all of the Caribbean, Hotel L’Esplanade has been a Les Fruits benefactor member since 2013 and has sponsored many Les Fruits de Mer events.
http://www.lesplanade.com – Hotel L’Esplanade on Facebook
Island Mattress
Island Mattress stocks the largest selection of mattresses in the area and specializes in the art of good sleep. Visit their showroom in Hope Estate to check out their mattresses and contemporary furniture.
http://www.island-mattress.com
St. Martin Voyages
Your agent for fantastic holidays, St. Martin Voyages is an official retailer for all airlines, with a mission to provide the best possible service for all your travel needs, from flights and cruises to custom trips and packages.
https://www.facebook.com/sxmvoyages/
Tri-Sport
Tri-Sport is the go-to shop for the active community of St. Maarten/St. Martin and the neighboring islands of Anguilla, Saba, Statia, and St. Barths. They run ecologically-friendly tours that get people out and moving – kayaking, bicycling, hiking, boogie boarding, and snorkeling. Tri-Sport’s retail shops carry all the necessities for triathlons with an emphasis on bicycles.
http://trisportsxm.com
We also couldn’t do Birds & Bugs without our fantastic partners, EPIC and Loterie Farm!
About Environmental Protection in the Caribbean
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) is a non-profit organization registered in St. Maarten and the United States. Founded in 2000 with the mission to protect the Caribbean environment through research and community-based action, EPIC has conducted long-term studies on the birds of the island while working to raise awareness of bird conservation issues. EPIC biologists have partnered with Loterie Farm for over a decade to study the health and diversity of birds in this rare habitat. http://www.epicislands.org
About Loterie Farm
Loterie Farm is a private nature reserve on the western slope of Pic Paradis. The 54-hectare property includes broadleaf forest as well as the remains of historical buildings dating back to the 18th century. Loterie Farm aims to safeguard both the history and the environment while also sharing these unique natural surroundings with the public. One of the most ecologically significant sites on St. Martin, Loterie Farm has hosted a great deal of biological research, including ongoing studies of birds and other animals. Loterie Farm offers hiking and zip-lining as well as a gourmet restaurant, lounge, and spring-fed swimming pool. http://loteriefarm.com
If you see a lot of folks in blue shirts in these photos, you’ll have an idea of how many wonderful volunteers we have. We couldn’t do fun, free events like this without them! Thank you, team Birds & Bugs: Adam Brown, Natalia Collier, Laura Bijnsdorp, Binkie Van Es, Paul Fry, Jill Kellsall, Patricia Coppie, Jovan Halley, Sarah Allen, Mael Renault, Simon Aubert, Clement Rouard, Muriel Morice, Roxane Boquet, Corinne Draesner, Anouchka Henocq, Rodger Boutelle, Marie-Estelle Pradel, Dorothee Allanic, William Allanic, Jenn Yerkes and Mark Yokoyama!
Yesterday’s Birds & Bugs was fantastic—huge thanks to all the volunteers and everyone who came to the event! We took a few photos of the event, so here’s a batch to kick off our post-event coverage. If you took any photos at Birds & Bugs, we’d love to see them. Share them with us on Facebook or email some to us at [email protected].
In this week’s Bird Watch SXM article, we give some background on one of the most important techniques scientists use to study birds, their life cycle and their migratory habits. This also happens to be a technique you can see in person at Birds & Bugs tomorrow, December 6th from 9am-noon at Loterie Farm. Read more and invite your friends.
Are you a bug ID superstar? Test your microscope skills with the “What am I?” activity or try your hand at insect ID with specimens we have. Got something that’s already stumped you? Bring in critters or photos and we’ll do our best to tell you what they are. All at Birds & Bugs, Sunday December 6th from 9am to noon at Loterie Farm. Invite your friends!
