Action MS3, IP11 – Study the creation of new paths and replant badly impacted wetlands

A biodiversity nursery and restoring a wetlands wasteland

Initiated by La Réserve Naturelle and the Saint Martin North Rotary Club several months after hurricane Irma destroyed large swathes of the island’s wetlands, especially in French Quarter, the biodiversity nursery has been operational for the past two years. With several thousand mangrove seeds and seedlings planted close to the Salines d’Orient salt pond, the nursery is a tool in the fight to restore these essential areas for birdlife, as well as for the protection of the coasts against the devastating effects of storm surge. At the same time, this nursery also hosts visits by more than 3,000 school students per year from Saint Martin to build their awareness of the importance of these wetlands for the island. Pleased with the success of this project, and with financial support from the Fondation de France, the management association for La Réserve Naturelle will soon launch an ambitious new project to restore a wetland area that has deteriorated, as well as put in a new discovery path, and continue their awareness campaign for the general public and students. This project, which has generated great enthusiasm amongst the members of the advisory committee, will not only add to public awareness but also be the catalyst to enact items from the management plan that concern the wetlands protected within La Réserve Naturelle. This project will also try to compensate in part for the increasing rarity of such wetlands on the entire island of Saint Martin.