Biodiversity competition: Happy School dethrones Emile Choisy
The champions have changed sides. After winning the first edition in 2025, Émile Choisy School had to relinquish its title this year to Happy School, which emerged victorious from a particularly closely fought second edition of the Great Biodiversity Competition.
Organised by the Association for the Management of the Saint-Martin Nature Reserve (AGRNSM), this educational competition brought together eight schools this year: Aline Hanson, Émile Choisy, Hervé Williams, Marie-Amélie Leydet, Happy School, Elie Gibbs, Clair Saint-Maximin and Marie-Antoinette Richards. This is an increase on the first edition, in which only six schools took part. The day began with a performance of the Saint-Martin anthem, followed by a welcome address from Anne-Karine Fleming, chair of the Nature Reserve. It was a short but well-received ceremony, as the pupils were eager to get down to business.
Intense head-to-head contests
The competition takes the form of a game inspired by Trivial Pursuit, entirely devoted to the environment and biodiversity. Created by the AGRNSM and produced using the Nature Reserve’s 3D printer, it pits schools against one another in duels determined by a draw. The aim: to collect as many petals as possible by answering the questions correctly and as quickly as possible.
The pupils, from Years 4 and 5, have once again demonstrated their excellent knowledge of the subject… knowledge they acquire throughout the year thanks to their teachers, who organise educational projects centred on key themes to help them develop a solid understanding of nature and the conservation of ecosystems.
This year, the suspense lasted right until the very end. Happy School ultimately came out on top, beating Émile Choisy and Aline Hanson by just a single point. Such a narrow margin is testament to the remarkably even standard of the eight competing teams. “Right up until the end of the competition, every school still had a chance of winning,” emphasised the teams from the Nature Reserve.
Throughout the day, the pupils demonstrated focus, speed and remarkable team spirit in answering the numerous questions. This level of engagement reflects the younger generations’ growing interest in environmental issues.
The Nature Reserve is keen to sustain this interest and, with this in mind, organised a training day on biodiversity for biology teachers for the first time this year, to raise awareness across all schools.
At the end of the competition, each school left with a trophy in recognition of their participation, but the largest and finest went to Happy School, which will keep it until the next edition, when it will once again be up for grabs… as this event, organised with the support of EDF, has, in just two years, become a much-anticipated fixture in the island’s schools. This is a good indicator of the younger generations’ interest in environmental issues and offers hope for the future of the planet.
