Local association Les Fruits de Mer invites everyone on St. Martin to help make a museum together at the Amuseum Naturalis March volunteer day. Volunteers of all ages can lend a hand this Saturday, March 23rd from 9am-noon and then enjoy lunch together right after.
“All are welcome, and anyone can help,” said Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “We’ll be working on the museum and gardens, and starting new seedlings to give away at our free plant stand. It’s always a lot of fun and a great chance to meet other people who love local heritage, plants and wildlife.”
Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House is a free museum of St. Martin’s nature and heritage, located at the historic Old House in French Quarter. Phase One of the Amuseum has been open since July 2018. It includes an exhibit hall, a botanic walk, several stunning viewpoints and gardens for bush tea and traditional crops.
“If you love plants, you’ll definitely want to come on Saturday,” said Amuseum curator Mark Yokoyama. “We gave away over 300 plants in the last few weeks, so we’ll be working to rebuild our stock of native trees and plants, and other plants traditionally grown on St. Martin. Be sure to save us the seeds from the next soursop or sugar apple you eat. We can also reuse your plastic yogurt containers as pots for seedlings.”
Amuseum Naturalis is an all-volunteer project. Over the last year, more than 200 volunteers spent over 4,000 hours working on the Amuseum. Since opening, the Amuseum has welcomed over 3,000 visitors, including over 1,500 local students.
The March volunteer event is 9am-noon on Saturday, March 23rd at Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House, on the hill above Le Galion beach. The public is also invited to visit the Amuseum during regular opening hours, Tuesday to Saturday 9am to noon. Admission is always free, and free school and youth group visits are also offered. For more information, visit http://amuseumnaturalis.com or find Les Fruits de Mer on Facebook.