Three educational marine areas in Saint Martin

Created in 2012 in the Marquises from the imagination of elementary school students, the concept of an “educative marine area” (AME) has been developed successfully across the French islands. In Saint Martin, three classes manage their marine area and were awarded the “educative marine area” label on June 4, 2018. This label, awarded by the French Agency for Biodiversity (AFB), recognizes the creation of an ecological project that invites students to think about the management and protection of natural marine heritage. These “junior rangers” become interested in a sector of their natural heritage and invest themselves in its protection and management. For example, a CM1 class at the Clair Saint-Maximim School alternates classroom study and field visits at Galion, under the watchful eye of their guide, Vincent Oliva, who is in charge of environmental education for the Réserve Naturelle. At the same time, two sixth grade classes at the Collège Mont des Accords have taken an interest in the littoral at Galisbay, with Amandine Vaslet, from the association “My School, My Whale.” The idea for all of these students is to define priorities for the protection of biodiversity at the site for which they are responsible, and apply their scholastic program to real-world examples, such as the replanting of the mangroves. The twinning of these classes is planned.