Leonald Connor Primary School Students Clean up Mullet Bay Beach and learn about Coral Reefs with the Nature Foundation St Maarten

Posted on by Melanie

Last Friday the Nature Foundation St Maarten organized a beach clean-up session for students from the Leonald Connor Primary School which took place at Mullet Bay beach. About 25 students collected over 250 pounds of trash in just half an hour. The students learned about the impact of single-use plastics on our environment, marine life … Continue reading Leonald Connor Primary School Students Clean up Mullet Bay Beach and learn about Coral Reefs with the Nature Foundation St Maarten

Nature Foundation Detects Worrisome Coral Disease Epidemic on St Maarten Coral Reefs

Posted on by Melanie

The Nature Foundation St Maarten has recently established the presence of ‘Tissue Loss Disease’ on several local coral reefs. The disease is a relatively new issue that has been plaguing coral reefs in the Atlantic Basin for the last few months.

Caribbean-wide “Plant a Million Coral” Initiative Launched on Sint Maarten

Posted on by Melanie

November 6th, 2018 Cole Bay, Sint Maarten - Intelligent reefs powered by nature have been installed at three sites in St. Maarten in a continuing effort to restore marine bio-diversity habitats devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Scientists, filmmakers, photographers, creatives, and leaders from the eco-tourism industry assisted the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation with its mission to … Continue reading Caribbean-wide “Plant a Million Coral” Initiative Launched on Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Records Coral Bleaching During Annual Coral Reef Surveys

Posted on by Christian
bleached coral

During its annual Coral Reef Monitoring activities the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has recorded incidents of coral bleaching both inside and outside of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area. The Foundation started it's monitoring dives on Tuesday and discovered numerous coral colonies showing signs of coral bleaching. Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel algae that live … Continue reading Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Records Coral Bleaching During Annual Coral Reef Surveys

The Nature Foundation St Maarten Encourages Residents, Tourists and Tour Operators to Use and Promote Coral Safe Sunscreens.

Posted on by Christian
bleached coral

Sunscreens with the UV-filter oxybenzone are bad for the country’s coral, therefore the Nature Foundation is asking all residents, tour operators, businesses and especially water sport users to use and promote reef safe sunscreens. A number of studies have shown that sunscreen and certain individual components of sunscreen can have negative effects on corals and … Continue reading The Nature Foundation St Maarten Encourages Residents, Tourists and Tour Operators to Use and Promote Coral Safe Sunscreens.

Unknown Incident Causes Significant Damage To Nature Foundation ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Posted on by Christian

Cole Bay- An unknown incident, more than likely caused by a large vessel, caused significant damage to the Nature Foundation Coral Reef Restoration Program. During inspection dives the two primary coral nursery structures sustained major damage and some coral fragments were affected. Foundation staff replaced the nursery to a safer location and replaced coral fragments at … Continue reading Unknown Incident Causes Significant Damage To Nature Foundation ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Nature Foundation Teaches Milton Peters College Students About Coral Reefs, Mangroves and Littering

Posted on by Christian

Last week the Nature Foundation visited the second form of Milton Peters College to teach the students about the importance of our coral reefs and about the Foundation’s Coral Restoration Project. Worldwide coral reefs are declining due to global warming, pollution, overfishing and habitat destruction, St Maarten’s coral reefs are also facing several threats and … Continue reading Nature Foundation Teaches Milton Peters College Students About Coral Reefs, Mangroves and Littering

Nature Foundation Stocks Coral Nursery as Part of ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Posted on by Christian

The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has started to populate its first coral nursery structures as part of its ‘Fragments of Recovery, Coral Reef Restoration Program. The project was recently launched after most of the previous coral nurseries were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. “The first Staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) have been transplanted … Continue reading Nature Foundation Stocks Coral Nursery as Part of ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Nature Foundation Relaunches ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Posted on by Christian

The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has started to populate its first coral nursery structures again after most of the previous coral nurseries were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Foundation has slowly started to implement its ‘Fragments of Recovery” coral restoration projects with installing the first two coral reef nurseries in an … Continue reading Nature Foundation Relaunches ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Nature Foundation Attends UNESCO Meeting in Jamaica. Push to Get Man of War Shoal Marine Park Listed as a Man and Biosphere Reserve.

Posted on by Christian

Managing director of the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Tadzio Bervoets recently attended the regional UNESCO Man and Biosphere meeting held in St. Ann, Jamaica. The meeting, hosted by the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO, was held in order to move attending islands and their representatives to have areas listed under the Man and Biosphere (MAB) … Continue reading Nature Foundation Attends UNESCO Meeting in Jamaica. Push to Get Man of War Shoal Marine Park Listed as a Man and Biosphere Reserve.