News

The Red Cross and Nature Foundation St. Maarten hosted their first tree planting event in the M.A.C. primary school John A. Gumbs Campus as part of their Re-greening SXM Project. The project (an initiative of the Red Cross and the Nature Foundation SXM) organized its first tree planting event within this school garden last Saturday, … Continue reading Red Cross and Nature Foundation St. Maarten Kick off First Tree Planting Event as part of the Re-greening SXM Project.

The Nature Foundation started a new project in order to find solutions for the continuing issues created by the invasive monkey species on the island, especially agriculture performers experience negative setbacks due to this invasive species. The Foundation’s first step, under the lead of Alice Manley, will include researching the current monkey population and develop … Continue reading Nature Foundation St. Maarten Researches Solutions for the Invasive Vervet Monkey

Last week the Nature Foundation successfully outplanted several Acropora coral fragments on the dive site Coralita in the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area of St. Maarten. These coral fragments have been growing in the Nature Foundation’s coral nursery for several years, some of these fragments where even Hurricane Irma survivors and are now … Continue reading Nature Foundations Outplants new Coral Colonies in the Marine Park, as part of the Coral Restoration Project.

The Nature Foundation St. Maarten is very concerned about the state of the local coral reefs, which is one of the most important ecosystems for St. Maarten; as it is providing coastline protection from storms, delivering clear waters, a home for fishes and it is an important tourist attraction. Over the last two years many … Continue reading Nature Foundation St. Maarten Alarmed about the Deterioration of Local Coral Reefs and Re-surveyed the Impact of Coral Disease; many Coral Colonies Perished in the last Two Years.

The Nature Foundation St. Maarten selected five local students to participate in their first Junior Ranger  Year Program with support of the ‘Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds Caribisch gebied’, Yacht Club Port de Plaisance, the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) and Ocean Explorers. On Saturday, August 15th the Nature Foundation held its first … Continue reading The Nature Foundation St. Maarten Launches its First Junior Ranger Program with Five Local Student Participants

The Re-greening SXM project (an initiative of the Netherlands Red Cross and the Nature Foundation SXM) collaborated with SXM A.C.T.I.O.N and the St. Maarten Youth Brigade to organize its first monthly community clean-up in the Madame Estate and Arch Road community last weekend. A group of over twenty-five volunteers came out to give back to … Continue reading RedCross and Nature Foundation’s Re-Greening SXM Project collected over 400lbs oftrash in Madame Estate, in collaboration with SXM A.C.T.I.O.N and the SXM YouthBrigade. 

  The Nature Foundation St. Maarten is now accepting applications from local youth, ages 12 to 14, who would like to participate in their Junior Ranger Program and would like to learn Scuba Diving. The Nature Foundation St. Maarten recently received notice that they will obtain a contribution from the ‘Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied’ … Continue reading Local Students Can Apply to Learn Scuba Diving with the Nature Foundation St. Maarten Junior Rangers as part of the Save St. Maarten Coral Project Funded by the ‘Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied’!

Recently the Nature Foundation St. Maarten provided advice to the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmila N.L. de Weever and the Minister of Public Housing, Physical Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Egbert J. Doran, regarding the negative impacts of marine mammal captivity and the negative impact to our environment and tourism … Continue reading The Nature Foundation St. Maarten Requested Documentation regarding the Water Rights at Alegria and Provided Negative Advice to the Government for Captivity of Marine Mammals.

The Nature Foundation St. Maarten received a call to report a dead Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi) tangled in a net within the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area in the beginning of July. The foundation crew was able to locate the shark on one of the dive sites and retrieve the body. After … Continue reading The Nature Foundation St. Maarten Discovered Dead Shark in the Marine Protected Area and Received Reports of the Beaching of an Unusual Shark Species.