BONAIRE:--- Over the last twelve years, His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday has proudly served as Governor of Sint Maarten. Throughout his tenure, Governor Holiday has been very supportive of nature conservation in St. Maarten and throughout the Dutch Caribbean. It is with great pleasure that Nature Foundation St. Maarten and Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) have dedicated a bench at the new St. Maarten Birding and Ecotourism Project in his honor.
As the first governor of the island, Governor Holiday has been a great advocate for nature in Sint Maarten and the Dutch Caribbean, supporting the Nature Foundation St. Maarten and DCNA through several projects. Governor Holiday has seen his fair share of challenges, from devastating hurricanes to the Covid pandemic. Throughout all of these, Governor Holiday has worked towards a more sustainable future by protecting and conserving the island’s natural assets.
“It has been my honor to serve you as your first governor and thus constitutional Head of Government on behalf of the King, a true privilege as a son of the soil and patriot to help build St. Maarten in its formative years as a country within the Kingdom.” Stated former Governor Holiday
Dedicated to Nature
To celebrate Governor Holiday’s commitment to nature, the Cabinet of the Governor together with Nature Foundation St. Maarten and the DCNA, presented a bench that will be dedicated to the former Governor at a newly built birding structure. This birding structure is part of the Resources for Community Resilience initiative “St. Maarten Birding and Ecotourism Project”.
"The Nature Foundation is profoundly grateful to Governor Holiday and his great contributions to St. Maarten and especially his focus on nature, sustainability, and resilience. His actions in office have set the tone for the island to put focus on renewable energy, climate change resilience, and environmentally sustainable development in the future. We are very thankful to the DCNA for their support of the Governor Holiday Dedication Bench which will be unveiled with our new bird viewing structure in early 2023," said Leslie Hickerson of the Nature Foundation St. Maarten.
New Birding Initiative
The Resources for Community Resilience initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations across the island in their reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts after Hurricane Irma. The St. Maarten Birding and Ecotourism Project works to develop birding as a recreational activity on the island which will serve as a helpful educational and ecotourism tool. Started in the fall of 2022, this project focuses on enabling local bird guides, creating birding infrastructure and implementing an education and awareness campaign. You can find out more by visiting the Nature Foundation St. Maarten’s social media pages.
