Celebrate the Birds that travel thousands of miles each year to St. Martin
Hundreds of kids, along with parents and friends, attended November’s Migratory Bird Festival, organized by the non-profit Les Fruits de Mer association and held at Amuseum Naturalis, in St. Martin. The kids explored the gardens and paths while playing Bird Bingo and partook of a habitat scavenger hunt from the BirdSleuth Caribbean program. They also learned about pelicans and how plastic can harm birds. In the craft area, kids and adults decorated canvas backpacks with bird art. They took the backpacks home, to use instead of plastic bags. The mobile media and learning hub IdeasBox was also at the event, bringing books, games and tablets loaded up with videos and e-books about St. Martin’s birds.
“This year’s festival was really special because we were able to provide buses for schools and youth groups,” says festival organizer, Jenn Yerkes. “We were able to reach more youth than ever, and it is all thanks to our sponsors. It’s not enough to have a free event if the kids can’t get there, so we want to do this even more in the future.” www.lesfruitsdemer.com
