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Protecting the Natural Areas of St. Maarten

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Posted on 8 Sep 2018 by Christian

source: wikipedia CC-BY-30

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Recent Articles

The Nature Foundation St Maarten Researches the Current Status of the National Bird Population the ‘Brown Pelican’ on our Island. 29 Oct 2019
Nature Foundation Re-Surveys the Impact of Coral Tissue Loss Disease on St Maarten Reefs; Coral Colonies Still Strongly Impacted by the Disease. 23 Oct 2019
Nature Foundation’s Junior Rangers Prepared for Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance’s Youth Environmental Exchange 22 Oct 2019

Reef Life Foundation

Peace of Mind: Eco Luxury Travel 1 Nov 2019
Plant A Million Coral: IntelliReefs 4 Sep 2019
IntelliReefs: Smart Substrates for Super Corals and Happy Fish! 4 Sep 2019

Les Fruits de Mers

Kids Connect with Nature and Heritage at Migratory Bird Festival 12 Nov 2019
Plastic Problems 9 Nov 2019
Fun Activities with Birds and Heritage at Free Migratory Bird Festival on Saturday 5 Nov 2019

Nature Today

Emergency assistance contributes to the spread of invasive exotics 9 Nov 2019
'We are proud of the forest we have saved' 31 Oct 2019
Volunteer GIS mapping, ancestral knowledge and a bird atlas: useful insights about citizen science in conservation 28 Sep 2019
Bats protection needs caves protection on Bonaire 20 Sep 2019
New Zealand’s biodiversity will take millions of years to recover 14 Aug 2019

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Wellsberg Street 1A Unit 25-26,
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Cole Bay, St. Maarten

Phone +1-721-544-4267

help@naturefoundationsxm.org

Hours: Mo-Fr 900AM - 400PM

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Styrofoam is beginning to be phased out by businesses, but do you know why?

Styrofoam is often created in the form of to-go containers, cups for hot liquids, plates, and even coolers. It is made out of a form of single use plastic, Polystyrene. Styrofoam leads to massive amounts of pollution, but its’ health risks to humans is ultimately the most terrifying part.

Styrene leaches from Styrofoam when exposed to heat; coffee, tea, food, etc. This toxin can cause irritation of the skin, eyes, the upper respiratory tract, and the gastrointestinal tract when exposed to short term. Repeated exposure, however, can lead to hearing loss, and disrupted kidney function in addition to increasing the risk of leukemia and lymphoma and is a neurotoxin. Children are especially at risk of these health risks because of their weaker immune system and tendencies to crawl and put items in their mouths. These innocent children should not suffer because of something they cannot even understand.

We often forget to include the middle man; those that work in these factories that produce such harmful toxins. 50 chemical byproducts are produced during the creation of Styrofoam. Workers in these plants have demonstrated increased cancer rates.

In addition to direct human impacts, waste disposal also poses a major threat to environments. Without proper disposal Styrofoam enters the environment. Birds and fish often mistaken these containers for food, resulting in ingestion leading to death.
Chemical components are leached into our drinking supply, and the water we swim in. A study performed in the United States discovered styrene residue in 100% of all fat samples taken from humans.

Next time you decide to get coffee, bring your own cup! Let businesses know the harms of Styrofoam and encourage them to make the transition to reusable and biodegradable materials including bamboo, glass, or corn/potato based products. You can check if it is made of Styrofoam by the look/feel of it, or if it has a triangle labeled ‘6’ in the middle.

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We are at the migratory bird festival at the Amuseum Naturalis at @lesfruitstagram to tell about our pelican monitoring project and the inpacts of plastics on birds, wildlife and marine life!
Make sure to not miss this amazing event today till noon.

#migratorybirdfestival #lesfruitsdemer #naturefoundationsxm #natureisourfuture #reducesxm #reusesxm #reducereusesxm #oceandefenders

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Risk for sea turtle hatchlings
This week we found a few big sand holes and old camp fires on Mullet Bay Beach. These holes probably originate from sand castles or other structures in the sand.
There is no problem with digging and building, but such holes can be dangerous for humans and animals. Especially when it gets dark and these holes are hard to see, you can step in and hurt yourself.
It also can endanger little sea turtle hatchlings on their way in the ocean. Many dangers lurk on the beach, such as birds and crabs, which catch and eat the small sea turtle.
If the hatchlings will get stuck in such a hole, becauses it is to deep to set oneself free, they will be very easy prey for other animals.
Camp fires also endanger sea turtle nests and little hatchlings. You never know if your campfire is above a nest, which might kill the eggs or if hatchlings get confused because of the light and walk in the wrong direction.
Only 1 of 1000 sea turtle hatchlings reach adulthood, so we should do our best to provide a safe start in their life, that at least one of 1000 will reach adulthood.
Please close your sand holes after a sunny day at the beach, it is important for the safety of sea turtles as well for your own safety and do not have campfires at the beach.
#seaturtles #seaturtlenesting #naturefoundation #natureisourfuture #saveourseaturtles #savetheocean #seaturtlessxm #saveseaturtles

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We had a great cleanup this morning at Guana Bay Beach, together with @sxmaction! We collected a lot of trash including debris from hurricane Irma. Thanks to SXM action for initiating and thanks to all the volunteers who came out to assist!

#beachcleanup #naturefoundation #natureisourfuture #saveourocean #cleanuo #reducereusesxm #nosingleuseplastics

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The Sea turtle nesting season on St Maarten is from April to November each year.
This means, at the moment it is getting calmer during our weekly beach patrols and we are approaching the end of the season. We are still continuing our patrols until the end of November to make sure we are not missing any nests and some of the laid nests will probably hatch in December this year! Therefore, even outside sea turtle nesting season we need to be careful on our beach as nesting activity cans still occur.
After the nesting season female sea turtles will return to their feeding grounds to come back in three to four years to lay eggs at the same beach again. In the last few months, every sea turtle, which went ashore for several times, could have built a nest containing around 150 eggs per nest. Hopefully, about two months after nesting, little sea turtles will hatch and starts their life in the open ocean.
In order to protect hatchlings, please stop driving and littering on the beaches. These are additional risks for hatchlings and decreases likelihood of survival.
#seaturtles #nestingbeaches #seaturtlenesting #saveourturtles #saveseaturtle #naturefoundation #natureisourfuture #iloveturtles #hatching #seaturtlehatch

Picture by @ocean explorers

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Attention! Volunteer Opportunity ahead!
This Saturday, November 2nd 2019 we are teaming up with SXM A.C.T.I.O.N @sxmaction for their monthly beach cleanup! This weekend the cleanup is being held at Guana Beach from 8:00-10:00AM. We will be meeting at the small dirt parking area at the end of Guy’s Estate Road to organize before we enter the beach. Bags and gloves will be provided! Everyone is invited to participate! Bring some snacks, a full reusable water bottle, and a great attitude and let’s make St. Maarten beautiful! We look forward to seeing you and your friends on Saturday at the lot on Guy’s Estate Road 8:00 AM sharp!
#SXMAction #naturefoundation #teamwork #noplastic #saynotoplastic #reduceSXM #reuseSXM #reducereuseSXM #gogreen #cleanup #beachcleanup #guanabeach #stmaarten #natureisourfuture #aspiringchangetoimpactournation

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Palapa Village B.V. located in Simpson Bay has been making tremendous strides in the fight against single use plastics. They have a strict policy that supports eco-friendly alternatives, only using reusable and biodegradable materials at their business. For every biodegradable 'take away box' the Nature Foundation will receive a 1$ donation. Each box is stamped and customers are asked that when they use a box to donate 1$ towards the Nature Foundation. Additionally, they no longer allow balloons for birthdays. Balloons are extremely harmful to terrestrial and marine life when ingested…we hope more businesses follow in Palapa’s footsteps!
We can’t thank Palapa enough for their continued support of the Nature Foundation, and joining us to make a better, cleaner, St. Maarten!! #gogreen #noplastic #saynotoplastic #bansingleuseplastics #oceandefender #reducesxm #reusesxm #reducereusesxm #natureisourfuture #supportlocalbusinesses #Palapavillage #noballoons

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Yesterday evening the Caribbean Association of Banks presented a cheque to the Nature Foundation Chairman Jan Beaujon, under the presence of Ildiko Gilders from the VROMI department, to support tree planting on the island.
We are very grateful of their support and their green initiative!

#treeplanting #natureisourfuture #naturefoundation

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Reduce and Reuse Intern, Grace Hansen, presented to 2 classes at the Leonald Connor School today! Spreading the message to reduce the consumption of single use plastics to the younger generation is very important. Students learned about the current impacts globally and locally and the health risks of ecosystems, marine life, and humans associated with single use plastics. They walked away with 5 steps to reduce their amount of single use plastic pollution; say no to single use plastic products, carry a reusable shopping bag, use and choose biodegradable alternatives, buy and ask for unpackaged fruits and veggies, lobby businesses to use less plastic and spread the word. It is their future that will be directly impacted by the amount of plastic we consume today.
#reducesxm #reusesxm #natureisourfuture #saynotoplastic #noplastic #reducereusesxm #nosingleuseplastics #oceandefender

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Our Junior Rangers are on the way to Bonaire for the environmental exchange. We wish them much fun and a great learning experience!

@dcnanature

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Unfortunately, we found these balloon litters on Mullet Bay beach, which could impact our environment and wildlife.

Balloons have the ability to travel thousands of miles through wind and ocean currents. Strings and the balloon itself pollute many beaches and oceans globally. A study conducted in March of 2019 concluded that birds that had ingested balloon material were 32 times more likely to die than birds that had eaten hard plastic (Scientific Reports). It is theorized that the balloons in the ocean may give off a ‘squid scent’ that attracts birds towards what they believe to be prey. Additionally, sea turtles may mistake balloons for jellyfish and eat them. This blocks their digestive track leading to starvation. It is our job to reduce the amount of plastics we use and ensure proper disposal of these items. If you use them as décor for parties, switch to greener alternatives such as paper streamers, kites, or banners. If you choose balloons, make sure you tie them down properly so they do not fly away and release the air and place in a trash bag when you are done.
#reducesxm #reusesxm #oceandefender #natureisourfuture #naturefoundation #noplastic #saynottoplastic #reducereusesxm #nosingleuseplastics

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Green Sea Turtle Nest at Gibbs Bay

This week we found a Green sea turtle nest at Gibbs Bay during our weekly beach patrols.
Clearly visible were all stages of a successful nest, starting with the emerging crawl (A) coming out of the water followed by an area in which sand is misted or thrown back over the emerging track (B). The third stage is a secondary body pit and escarpment, with sand thrown in the vicinity (C). In this area the egg chamber is located with about 100-115 white eggs. After the female sea turtle finished laying eggs she will try to cover the nest as best as possible and crawl back to the ocean. These track is called “returning crawl” (D). We are looking forward to the hatching date in December and hopefully we will see little crawls along the beach from the Green sea turtle hatchlings.
If you see any sea turtle activities on Sint Maarten´s Beaches, please contact the Nature Foundation!
#nesting #greenseaturtle #gibbsbay #natureisourfuture #naturefoundation #hatchlings #beachpatrols

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