Suzanne Gonnier Works For The Birds

Suzanne Gonnier, a 22 year-old student at the National Superior School for Landscape (ENSP), worked as an intern at the Réserve Naturelle in June and July 2018. A future landscape architect, she decided to come to the Réserve Naturelle to work with a leader in island management with the idea of starting her career in an environmentally protected area. Her task was to present a rehabilitation project for the Salines d’Orient, hit rather hard by Irma. The current thinking is to reconcile regeneration and conservation of the eco-systems with use by the public. Gonnier focused on the tidal reservoir, a favorite spot for nesting birds, and her recommendations comprise reconfiguring the canals in this area as well as stabilizing the banks with the planting of mangroves from the nursery created in collaboration with students from the middle school in French Quarter, as part of the Educative Marine Park program for Galion Bay. These improvements will help isolate the nesting and resting zones for the avifauna, which previously could be disturbed by terrestrial predators. These new gathering places could also allow for the development of activities such as bird watching. This work adds to the thought already given to the rehabilitation and management of this site, which is protected as part of the Réserve Naturelle Nationale with Ramsar and SPAW labels, for the richness of the eco-systems it houses.