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Protecting the Natural Areas of St. Maarten

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Posted on 25 Jun 2019 by Melanie

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← Disease Linked to Poor Water Quality Affecting Island’s Sea Turtle Population

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Recent Articles

  • Nature Foundation and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education visit local schools to educate students about the importance of Coral Reefs and introduce Student Competition 17 Mar 2020
  • St. Maarten’s Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations Present Support Letter to Parliament for the ban on Single-use Plastic Items Initiated by MP Sarah Wescot-Williams 16 Mar 2020
  • Telem Group and Nature Foundation Team up to Help Save St. Maarten Coral Reefs 3 Mar 2020

RSS Reef Life Foundation

  • Homes for the Ocean's Homeless: Coral Reef's Unsung Heroes 19 Mar 2020
  • Ancient Turtles to Ocean Wildlife 4 Mar 2020
  • Oceanite Octopus Condo 15 Feb 2020

RSS Les Fruits de Mers

  • Heritage Jollification 4 Apr 2020
  • Amuseum@Home: Day 16 3 Apr 2020
  • Amuseum@Home: Day 15 1 Apr 2020

RSS Nature Today

  • Fipronil seed-coating leads to strongly impaired reproduction in cabbage white butterflies 12 Mar 2020
  • Unlocking the evolutionary secrets of local amphibians and lizards within the Lesser Antilles 8 Mar 2020
  • Help counting Europe’s butterflies 17 Feb 2020
  • Solving conflicts between humans and elephants: how a former poacher became a local hero 14 Feb 2020
  • Genetic testing to measure sea turtle conservation success 9 Feb 2020

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Wellsberg Street 1A Unit 25-26,
Fisherman’s Wharf Complex,
Cole Bay, St. Maarten

Phone +1-721-544-4267

help@naturefoundationsxm.org

Hours: Mo-Fr 900AM - 400PM

Site Realisation by Christian Peper

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Nature Foundation on Facebook

Nature Foundation on Facebook

naturefoundationsxm
HELP SAVE OUR CORAL REEFS! TelCell NV Today's ques HELP SAVE OUR CORAL REEFS! TelCell NV Today's question to help save our coral reefs, SMS your answer and WIN a two night hotel stay at Holland House Beach Hotel !! Coral reefs around the world are under attack from pollution, climate change, disease and other environmental threats, affecting billions of tourism-generated dollars. St. Maarten’s coral reefs are also facing this same major threat, but the impact of their loss in our tranquil blue waters, will have an even more devastating effect. Be a part of this amazing opportunity to save our coral reefs by participating in TELEM their SMS to WIN campaign. Lots of prizes to be won, including electronic devices, hotel stays, event tickets and more! Check FB for regular updates. All proceeds will be donated to the St. Maarten Nature Foundation! #coralreefs #natureisourfuture #ilovecorals #telem #hollandhouse #naturefoundationsxm #saveourcorals #saveourreefs #ilovenature #telcell
CONGRATS to the winner of the first Save our Coral CONGRATS to the winner of the first Save our Coral Reefs TelEm SMS & WIN campaign! Ms. Shanika Gario wins this week Monday’s TelEm SMS & WIN campaign, on the picture accompanied by TelEm’s Marketing Officer, Mr. Adrian Lista. Ms. Gario is the lucky winner of a Sand Dollar Snorkeling Adventure Trip which is sponsored by Aqua Mania Aqua Mania Adventures. All funds generated from the campaign will be donated to the St. Maarten Nature Foundation in an effort to save our local coral reefs from devastating environmental and human threats. The next Save our Coral Reefs SMS & WIN campaign question will be broadcasted this Friday!! #telem #saveourcorals #saveourcoralreefs #aquamania #telcell #natureisourfuture #ilovenature #naturefoundationsxm #savecorals #ilovecorals #ilovecoralreefs
Stony Coral Tissue loss disease is a relatively ne Stony Coral Tissue loss disease is a relatively new issue that has been plaguing coral reefs in the Atlantic Basin for the last year, the coral disease was first discovered on St Maarten reefs in October 2018. The coral reef disease manifests itself through the creation of white blotches on stony coral, eventually leading to the loss of tissue and eventual death in the coral colony. The disease affects 20 different coral species is able to kill colonies within several weeks or months. The Nature Foundations recommends all divers to be vigilant to not spread the disease. The disease appears to be water borne and may potentially be spread by divers their gear according the Florida Disease Advisory Committee. Nature Foundation also advises all scuba divers to be aware of their fins and to not touch any diseased or healthy coral; as you will probably transmit the disease to other corals! For more information and instructions to decontaminate your gear please see attached posters! Dive Safaris St. Maarten Aqua Mania Adventures Dive Adventures Dive Sint Maarten Ocean Explorers Dive Center Blue Odyssey Diving SXM
DONATE YOUR TELCELL CREDIT TO HELP SAVE OUR REEFS! DONATE YOUR TELCELL CREDIT TO HELP SAVE OUR REEFS!! Coral reefs around the world are under attack from pollution, climate change, disease and other environmental threats, affecting billions of tourism-generated dollars. St. Maarten’s coral reefs are also facing this same major threat, but the impact of their loss in our tranquil blue waters, will have an even more devastating effect. TelCell NV You can play a very important part by making a significant donation to the St. Maarten Nature Foundation. Here's how:
HELP SAVE OUR CORAL REEFS!! In the coming weeks we HELP SAVE OUR CORAL REEFS!! In the coming weeks we are partnering with TELEM to Save our Coral Reefs! Learn about corals reefs and save them while winning prizes from TELem, send in your anwer now! A huge thanks goes to TelCell NV for organizing this campaign! Coral reefs around the world are under attack from pollution, climate change, disease and other environmental threats, affecting billions of tourism-generated dollars. St. Maarten’s coral reefs are also facing this same major threat, but the impact of their loss in our tranquil blue waters, will have an even more devastating effect. Be a part of this amazing opportunity to save our coral reefs by participating in our SMS to WIN campaign. Lots of prizes to be won, including electronic devices, hotel stays, event tickets and more! Check FB for regular updates. All proceeds will be donated to the St. Maarten Nature Foundation.
Recently we received reports from concerned citize Recently we received reports from concerned citizens regarding shark steaks being sold by a company on the french side selling to businesses on Sint Maarten. We would like to prevent the sale of any shark or ray product, due to their important role in the marine ecosystem, tourism industry and the health of our coral reefs. Since October the 12th of 2011 it is prohibited to wound, catch, land, or kill sharks, rays and skates in the territorial waters of Sint Maarten. There is no accepted scientific evidence showing any positive health benefits of shark products. In fact, studies show that shark has among the highest levels of the toxic methyl-mercury and other dangerous toxins found in fish and can cause serious health effects. Globally, human fishing pressure has resulted in 100 million sharks being killed annually, primarily for products such as shark fin soup and shark steaks. The cruel act of finning sharks, which sometimes involves cutting the fins off live sharks, and selling shark products is pushing sharks to the brink of extinction, including in the waters surrounding Sint Maarten. Sharks are not frightening or dangerous but an important contributor to the ecosystem and important to the local community as they attract valuable dive tourism. Sharks also keep the reefs clean of unhealthy fish, keeping the ecosystem in balance. If we do not have sharks we will lose our coral reef ecosystem and everything which depends on that such as fisheries, dive tourism, beach tourism and the very things which make us a unique island in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, of the thirty three shark species living in the Dutch Caribbean, a third is categorized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as vulnerable to extinction, another third is near threatened, and four species are already (critically) endangered with extinction. The Nature Foundation therefore requested the company to stop selling Shark Steaks and any other shark or ray product!
Yesterday the participants of the Ecosystem Based Yesterday the participants of the Ecosystem Based Management workshop, which is being held on St. Maarten and funded by UNEP, enjoyed a fieldtrip throught the Simpson Bay Lagoon. We visited the mangrove restoration project from EPIC and the participants learned about the impacts of hurricane Irma on Mullet Pond including the shipwrecks which sunk in the area. #naturefoundation #natureisourfuture #mangroves #mangroverestoration #epic #hurricaneirma
Congrats to our intern ranger Ray, who passed his Congrats to our intern ranger Ray, who passed his PADI advanced course! More skills to apply in our marine protected area in order to conserve the coral reefs and marine life. #padi #marinelife #coralreefs #naturefoundationsxm #natureisourfuture #oceanexplorers
Yesterday evening Reduce Reuse Intern, Grace Hanse Yesterday evening Reduce Reuse Intern, Grace Hansen, visited the brigade at Milton Peters College to speak to young adults and children about reducing plastic consumption. Many of the listeners had prior knowledge about some of the negative impacts of plastic. This was super exciting to see as the Nature Foundation continuously works towards a governmental ban on single use plastics. The students understood the concept of microplastics and how it works it’s way up the food chain to our dinner plates. They also understood how plastics do not break down, only into tiny pieces. They were made aware of the potential health risks associated with plastics. For example, 0% of bottled water companies must abide by governmental clean water standards. This means that every time you drink from a plastic water bottle such as ‘Nestle Pure Life,’ you are most likely ingesting plastic. There have been no studies about the impacts of microplastics on humans. Students were encouraged to reduce their plastic footprint through reusable and biodegradable alternatives in order to keep St. Maarten beautiful and other parts of the world. They now understand the significance of the marine ecosystems and how they are connected to our every day lives. The students agreed that they are worth protecting for environmental and human health and the economy! Please be sure to bring your reusable bags, water bottles, cutlery and straws wherever you go. Share information about plastics with friends and coworkers to build a network of plastic pollution fighters. Change starts at the individual level! #natureisourfuture #bansingleuse #reduceSXM #reuseSXM #reducereuse #naturefoundation #publicoutreach #plastic #saynotoplastic
This week a competition for secondary school stude This week a competition for secondary school students in order to protect the coral reefs in St Maarten has been launched by the Nature Foundation St. Maarten, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education and Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The project aims to create a sense of ownership by the island population by generating awareness amongst students, the local government, donor organizations, businesses and the people of St. Maarten about the loss of corals and its potential consequences for the island’s economy. The Coral Competition Team, consisting of a Nature Foundation staff member, a Marine ecologist and a specialist from the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, will be visiting secondary schools on the 9th and 10th of March 2020 in order to present the Coral Competition to the students of St. Maarten. Besides, these presentations are also focused on learning about coral reefs, their importance, their numerous threats and how students can help to ensure coral reefs for the future. Secondary schools and schools with students within the ages from 12 until 19 years old, are urged to request a presentation appointment from the team by sending an email to education@naturefoundationsxm.org, in order to provide opportunities for their students to participate in the competition and learn about coral reefs. To participate in the Coral Competition, students are asked to form groups of maximum 4 students and come up with a Proposal to Save St. Maarten Coral Reefs. Students may choose to work with students from any school, however all participating students should be between 12 until 19 years old and each student is only allowed to participate in one proposal. Their proposal presentations shall have no boundaries when it comes to creativity on presenting and saving coral reefs. In addition, the proposal should be executable by the Nature Foundation with about USD $4000. Student groups can register for the project before Friday the 27th of March 2020 by sending an email to education@naturefoundationsxm.org with their proposal name, their names and their contact details.
The Nature Foundation has a new intern! Briana Ha The Nature Foundation has a new intern! Briana Halley was born and raised on St. Maarten and is currently in the third year of her study at The HZ University of Applied Sciences in Vlissingen, Netherlands. She is studying Water Management following the study track of Delta Management, which focuses on learning how to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change in Deltas around the world. The study focuses on how to create strategies to deal with the effects of climate change while combining economic, ecological, spatial and social aspects of an area. She is continuously learning skills on project and process management to be able to handle projects with complex issues about water and climate change worldwide. Briana will be taking on the task of testing the water quality on the beaches of St. Maarten. Water quality is a complex issue that affects ecosystems and human health. The Nature Foundation is working in collaboration with The American University of the Caribbean to conduct water quality tests to enumerate bacterial contamination of St. Maarten beaches. Briana will use the findings of the water quality tests to report about the influences of water quality on the environment, marine life, wildlife, humans and ecosystems. We would like to give Briana a warm welcome!
Last week we had a great week together with the cr Last week we had a great week together with the crew of the IntelliReefs, @reeflifefoundation and @pelican_peak! We researched and monitored the performance of the IntelliReef structures which were placed in September 2018, this trip was funded by the @waittinstitute. We found an abundance of marine life on the newly developed structures, including already some coral settlers. In the coming months collected monitoring materials will be analyzed and researched to determine species composition and growth on the artificial reef structures! During the week, the IntelliReefs team enjoyed amazing views and a speedy zipline rides at Pelican Peak, collaborators and supports of the Intellreefs project. #intellireefs #reeflifefoundation #natureisourfuture #naturefoundationsxm #pelicanpeak #onemilioncoral #waittinstitute
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