Grand Case, St. Martin—In preparation for the upcoming 2015 Endemic Animal Festival, Les Fruits de Mer have released a free eBook, Eye on Endemics, featuring full-color photos, fascinating info and fun facts about some of the regionally-endemic birds found on the island. The book is available for free download on the association’s website, http://www.lesfruitsdemer.com. The festival itself will be held on Saturday, April 25th from 9am to noon at Seaside Nature Park in Cay Bay.“We wanted to do something special for our second Endemic Animal Festival,” explains association President Jenn Yerkes. “The annual festival is a chance to experience nature and get up close with the animals that are unique to our island and area, while the eBook gives people a more in-depth look at some specific bird species like the Antillean Crested Hummingbird and the Killy-killy, plus it’s a reference they can use all year long.” She notes that it can be downloaded onto smartphones and tablets to ID regionally endemic birds on the go. “You can use it as a mobile tool that even tells you where to spot the different species we showcased–we pictured residents and tourists having fun walking around finding these fabulous birds and learning about them. Pop this onto your phone or tablet, and suddenly you can turn any stroll outside into a cool activity for kids and adults.”
St. Martin’s Endemic Animal Festival is a celebration of the amazing animal species that live only on St. Martin, or only in our region. Festival activities include an Endemic Animal Discovery Station, guided nature walks and art activities related to endemic animals. It is one of dozens of events held throughout the Caribbean to celebrate endemic wildlife as part of the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF), and the annual St. Martin event is organized by Les Fruits de Mer.
This year’s CEBF theme is “Restore Habitat, Restore Birds” and the Les Fruits de Mer association is planning activities specifically related to this theme. According to co-founder Mark Yokoyama, “We are very interested in exploring how habitat restoration can happen even at the backyard level using native plants. It is a way for people to take individual action, to weave natural heritage into the urban fabric and to help sustain local wildlife, including species unique to our island.”
The festival will be held for the second year at Seaside Nature Park, a 30-acre nature park located in Cay Bay created to preserve and promote local nature, history and culture while providing family fun. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information about the event, or to download the free Eye on Endemics eBook, visit http://www.lesfruitsdemer.com or find Les Fruits de Mer on Facebook.
