Louise Petit

Iguane St Martin

Qu’ils soient dans les palmiers, le long de la route ou sur les rochers, il ne se passe pas un jour sans que l’on puisse apercevoir un iguane. En effet, ces reptiles colorés font partie intégrante de la richesse de la faune de St Martin.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Uta Loubser

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The tabebuia heterophylla, also known as pink trumpet tree, is native to the Caribbean islands. St.Maarten/St.Martin is filled with it. When the trees are in bloom you can see them everywhere, in gardens, alongside roads, and decorating the hills. The gentle soft blooms range from white to pale pink and purple and only last a few days before they fall off. Here I was lucky to catch a hummingbird in its branches, that tiny most energetic of birds that hardly ever alights long enough to take a photo of.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Uta Loubser

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The kestrel is a small bird of prey. It likes to sit perched on the edge of a roof or like here, on the top of a branch, where it has a clear view of small movements below. We have consistently seen kestrels in the eastern hills near Dawn Beach for the past 10 years.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Uta Loubser

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The sargassum weed lining our eastern shores is quite beautiful when fresh. It also serves as a foot massage when walking on it. As it dries and rots it attracts flies, so it regularly needs to be collected and disposed of.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Michael J. Mark

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Picture of abandoned ship in Simpson Bay with Island Saba in the background.

Everything is returned to the earth and this ship will be returned to the sea.

Symbolizes the pure nature of SXM. You can never take that away.

I love this place.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Unsung Stories of Caribbean Naturalists Come Alive at Book Fair Presentation

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Discover the fascinating, largely unknown stories of the incredible women and men who helped to build the scientific heritage of the Caribbean at a special multimedia presentation at the 2016 St. Martin Book Fair. Women, People of Color, and the Making of Natural History in the Caribbean, is free and open to the public and will take place from 11am to 12:30pm on Saturday, June 4th at the University of St. Martin.

The presentation was created as part of an ongoing research, writing and outreach project to shine a light on the lost or unsung work of the women and people of color in the study of Caribbean natural history, from the late 1400s to the early 1900s.

“Their historical contributions to science were often hidden, suppressed, or simply not as well publicized as those of their white male contemporaries,” explains presenter Jenn Yerkes, President of Les Fruits de Mer and co-curator of Amuseum Naturalis. “Many of these trailblazers had to fight slavery, racism, and sexism, and risk perilous journeys, pirates, disease, and dangerous wildernesses to do what they loved; their real lives were more epic, adventurous, heartbreaking, and inspiring than any Hollywood movie.”

Anyone are unable to attend the Book Fair presentation can learn more about some of these amazing individuals in the special exhibit currently on display at Amuseum Naturalis in Grand Case. The museum is open to the public from 4-8pm each Thursday and Sunday throughout the month of June.

Club Gaïac: Munich Edition

Frequent Club Gaïac contributor John Speetjens was kind enough to send some images of the Gaïac tree in the botanical garden in Munich. This is the third European specimen he’s spotted in his “heritage uprooted” series. The others were seen in gardens in Amsterdam and Berlin.

Corine Pineau

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J’ai pris cette photo lors de la manifestation « ARROW ROOT JOLLIFICATION » à Colombier

Pour moi elle représente bien l’esprit de Saint-Martin car l’esprit c’est ce qui fonde un pays, son histoire, son patrimoine matériel et immatériel. Au premier plan des pierres sèches, marqueurs historiques. Un champ de dictame ou arrow root où des hommes dans leurs diversités, comme autrefois replantent à la main les jeunes pousses témoin de la solidarité saint-martinoise. Les voitures en arrière plan soulignent la modernité pour mieux révéler la tradition.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Hilbert Haar

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I drove past this spot atop the hill going into Marigot many times and I saw the frame for this picture immediately. Still, it took me weeks before I finally stopped one morning to take the shot. I like the combination of the graffiti and the flamboyant tree; together these elements make a perfect love declaration for the island.

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.

Guy Corbou

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Après une heure de marche sur le chemin rocailleux au milieu des plantes endémiques, arrivée à Petites Cayes, nous sommes seuls tels des Robinsons et là un trésor: les caniques ouvrent leurs gousses et laissent paraître leurs graines semblables à des perles… réserve naturelle oblige: notre moisson sera de photos et d’un sentiment de paix au milieu de cette nature préservée, rythmée par le bruit de l’océan qui vient s’échouer contre le récif corallien…

This is an entry in the 2016 Heritage Photo Contest. View all the entries in the online gallery, learn more and find out how to enter here.