Launch of a mangrove nursery

The Réserve Naturelle received permission from the Collectivité to establish a nursery for mangroves on a tract of land temporarily made available to the Réserve by the Conservatoire du Littoral, close to the Orient Salt Pond. Funded by a grant from the Rotary Club, the goal is to replant 100,000 mangrove shoots in the salt ponds where the vegetation was decimated by hurricane Irma. The staff has been gathering seeds, pods, and seedlings in the field, and been growing them day-by-day in their facility in Anse Marcel. The shoots are placed in biodegradable pots made of sugar cane fiber that will be placed in the silt where the mangroves will develop. A wood structure will be built to provide shade for the shoots, before all of the seedlings are moved to the nursery. The Saint Martin Rotary Club financed 50% of the project, whose total cost is estimated at 48,500€. Delma Maduro, regional district governor for Rotary International, paid a visit to the nursery site on October 21, accompanied by members of the local club, and expressed enthusiasm for the project after listening to an introduction provided by the staff. Signage posted at the site has made the project official, in keeping with the methodology of the IUCN (International Union For Conservation Of Nature).