Grand Case, St. Martin:--- The all-volunteer Les Fruits de Mer association is thrilled to announce the launch of Island of Discovery, a new project that will boost education about local nature, heritage and culture. The project will reach thousands of students on both sides of the island in the coming year. The €40,900 project is funded by Fondation Air France. It includes class visits to Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House and the distribution of thousands of books about St. Martin to students.
“Our volunteer team is so excited to take our education programs island-wide!” said Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “We’ve had great success on the French side, but St. Martin is one island, and this project brings our local education programs to the Dutch side in a big way. It is the biggest transboundary education project we know of on this island, and the funding from Fondation Air France makes it possible.”
The Island of Discovery project includes funding for class visits to Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House for classes from both sides of the island. On the French side, this new project will build on the association’s existing subvention-funded school book program to give books to other associations and organizations working with kids. On the Dutch side, the project will fund books for all primary school students and some secondary school students. Over 8,000 books about St. Martin will be distributed as part of this project.
The project also includes distributing educational banners and publishing a fun new activity book for students who visit Amuseum Naturalis. The new book will be based on museum exhibits to reinforce learning during class visits.
“For years, we have been hearing from the community that learning about St. Martin’s nature, heritage, and culture is necessary, but that it is not very present in the curriculum on either side of the island..That’s what this program is all about,” said Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama. “We want the next generation to know St. Martin and love St. Martin. For us, that means getting materials about this island in the hands of every single student. We are grateful to Fondation Air France for helping us cross boundaries and expand this vision.”
The Les Fruits de Mer association has published over 40 books about St. Martin's nature, heritage, and culture. They include oral histories and works created in partnership with Lasana M. Sekou and Lady Ruby Bute. In 2023, the association distributed over 15,000 books for free, giving at least one book to every student and teacher in a public school on the French side of the island. It has also offered free class visits to Amuseum Naturalis since 2016.
Since 1992, Fondation Air France has funded close to 1680 projects in 80 countries served by the airline company. It partners with associations on projects that impact children and youth, focusing on educational, environmental, and humanitarian projects.
