Be The Change Raises $500 for EPIC’s Replanting Efforts

PHILIPSBURG – During the month of October, Be The Change Foundation, through their online crowd funding platform, raised a total of USD$500 for Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) Foundation’s project to plant native species around St. Maarten, following the disastrous effects Hurricane Irma wreaked on the island’s biodiversity.

Prior to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the Foundation conducted assessments to better understand what native plants need to be introduced to each of three sites (Cay Bay, Sentry Hill and Little Key) to increase biodiversity. Funds raised by Be The Change donors will be used to help source more plants to replant in these areas.

EPIC is currently busy reaching out to schools, churches, community groups and business teams around the island providing free presentations and excursions on the importance of biodiversity: the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. For more information please contact EPIC’s project coordinator Kippy Gilders at kippy@epicislands.org or by calling +1 (721) 524-4420.

Photo caption: Technicians prepare an area in Sentry Hill for replanting. Credit: Kippy Gilders