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At the end of the microphone cable, the little pink amplifier produces bubbles with every word Rudi Laplace speaks. The equipment is as childish as it is rudimentary, but it keeps the president of the Island Nature Experiences (INE) association from having to shout himself hoarse during his speech. And anyway, what better way to celebrate INE’s tenth anniversary than with his daughter’s karaoke machine? For the occasion, the association’s staff and volunteers gathered at the thatched huts in Petit-Cul-de-Sac on Sunday, September 20. A few handpicked guests were also in attendance—enough to keep the operators of the sugarcane juice press working hard to supply attendees with local refreshments.
Taking Action and Building
“The INE was created to mobilize a human force on the ground and advance our island’s environmental projects,” recalls Rudi Laplace. “Our philosophy is simple: to devote our energy to taking action and building, without letting ourselves be discouraged by the scale of the task or worrying about whether others should be doing better.” Thus, quietly, the INE works to preserve Saint Barthélemy’s biodiversity.
Planting 10,000 mangroves during the restoration of the Saint-Jean lagoon; preserving the Petit-Cul-de-Sac and Toiny headlands, where more than 100 hectares have been returned to nature through the removal of goats and reforestation; the creation of trails on the Grand-Cul-de-Sac peninsula, the renovation of the Colombier trail, the restoration and creation of coral reefs, raising awareness among schoolchildren, and cleanup operations (Clean-up)… The list of actions carried out by the association over the past ten years is long. So long, in fact, that the management of the Saline slaughterhouse, the capture of thousands of goats, and collaborations with the Territorial Environmental Agency could almost be forgotten…
The Best and Life Rept’Island Projects
Keen not to omit any acknowledgments in his speech, Rudi Laplace praised the work carried out by the association’s staff. Take Alice Chardenon, for example, who joined the INE nearly three years ago and helped the association secure funding for two European projects led by the French Office for Biodiversity. The Best project, which aims to protect the biodiversity of Morne de Vitet by capturing all the cabris present on the site, and the Life Rept’Island project, which brings together all the French islands in the Caribbean. This project is helping to fund the creation of Saint Barth’s first terrestrial nature reserve on Morne de Grand Fond. “An area equivalent in size to Îlet Tortue will thus be protected and restored,” says Rudi Laplace. This is just one of many projects currently underway.
Goal: 200 members
The president had no idea, when he left after finishing his studies to volunteer on environmental conservation projects in the United States, that this brief experience would lead him to be so busy he wouldn’t know where to turn on his island. “There’s more and more work,” he smiles. “There are needs, lots of projects. It’s a wonderful human adventure.”
This year, one of the INE’s goals is to reach 200 members. This milestone will allow the organization to obtain official status as a recognized public-benefit association. This development will give the INE the ability to receive bequests and donations to further expand its work. All for the benefit of the island’s biodiversity—and, therefore, its residents. And if they have to make do with a pink amplifier that makes bubbles for official speeches, there’s no doubt that this won’t bother the president or the entire Island Nature Experiences team in the least.
Join INE at www.instbarth.com, on Facebook, or on Instagram.
