Message from the Executive Director

HAPPY CUP MATCH!

The BNT team wishes everyone a joyful Cup Match holiday, whether you choose to spend it at the match, on the water or just chilling at home.

If you are heading overseas for a vacation this summer, don’t forget that your BNT membership gives you free access to hundreds of heritage sites around the world through the INTO Places reciprocal programme.

The International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), of which BNT is a member, works with many of the world’s heritage trusts to make your membership go further. Organisations in over 25 countries, including Canada, Scotland, England & Wales, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, South Korea and many more, extend complimentary admission to the members of other participating organisations. All you need to do is show your valid Bermuda National Trust membership card to visit many wonderful places worldwide for free (click the link above for more information).

To renew your membership (or obtain a new card if you have lost it) click here or contact Lauren Simons on 236 6483 ext. 218 or email lsimons@bnt.bm.

BNT Museums and our office at Waterville will be closed for the Cup Match Holiday:

Thursday, 31 July – Emancipation Day and Friday, 1 August – Mary Prince Day.

Verdmont and Globe Museum will reopen on Saturday, 2 August from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

Karen Border

Executive Director

Natural Heritage Updates

Myles Darrell, Head of Natural Heritage

The Future of Southlands Is Being Decided — Have Your Say!

The Draft Management Plan for Southlands National Park is open for public consultation. This is your chance to shape the future of one of Bermuda’s most unique and irreplaceable open spaces.

Submit your comments here:

https://forum.gov.bm/en/projects/sp-management-plan-2025

Southlands is not just another green space. It is a haven for endangered plants and animals, a historic landscape and one of the last large, publicly accessible wild areas in Bermuda. Yet we are seeing increasing pressure to commercialise this space.

A large café and expansive parking lot have already been proposed — without an approved plan in place.
A zipline adventure course has been applied for throughout the site — a high-impact attraction that does not belong in a national park.

These developments could be enabled — or prevented — by the content of the final management plan. That’s why your input matters right now.

The Bermuda National Trust believes:

Parks should serve the public good, not private profits.
We must focus on conserving what little open space Bermuda has left.
Any plan must be properly reviewed, grounded in public consultation, and respectful of both natural and cultural heritage.
New projects must be realistic — especially when park staff and budgets are already stretched beyond capacity.

We are not opposed to all change. We are asking for smart, sustainable, and community-led decisions — not development that overwhelms a fragile site and goes against the values of a national park.

Click here to submit your comments

Accommodation Wanted!

We’re looking for affordable accommodation in Bermuda from November 3rd to 28th for a visiting scientist assisting with our invertebrate study.

She’s a spider specialist coming to support critical local research — and she’s traveling on a budget.

If you or someone you know has an Airbnb or a private rental available (even a room!) during this time, please reach out to myles.darrell@bnt.bm

Your help supports local conservation work and meaningful scientific collaboration.

Cultural Heritage Updates

Dr Charlotte Andrews, Head of Cultural Heritage

Roots and Reckonings: Planting Seeds for the Future

With support from INTO, I travelled to Bristol for three days of site visits and in-person meetings with members of the Re-imagining International Sites of Enslavement (RISE) cohort. It was inspiring to finally meet colleagues from the Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the United States, and Zanzibar—many of whom I’ve worked with virtually since 2021.

Our time together was rich in exchange—sharing strategies, challenges and insights around interpreting and caring for sites of enslavement. The sense of solidarity and shared purpose was energising.

Bristol, with its deep ties to the transatlantic slave trade, was a powerful backdrop. From the empty plinth where Edward Colston’s statue once stood, to its display at M Shed museum and landmarks like Pero’s Bridge, the city’s legacy prompted meaningful reflection on place, memory and public history.

The RISE cohort at University of Bristol

We visited Dyrham Park, a National Trust property where links to enslavement are being actively reinterpreted. The curatorial work there sparked important discussions about how institutions engage with heritage and collections connected to historical trauma.

A highlight was our session with the University of Bristol research team who are partnering with the RISE programme to explore how plants, planting practices and green spaces can help tell stories of enslavement. These conversations raised powerful questions: How can gardens communicate history? What stories do plants carry? How can natural spaces be used to interpret cultural memory?

These themes carried into the Society for Caribbean Studies conference, also at the University, where I joined a roundtable discussion on reinterpretation and responsibility in heritage work.

I returned home revitalised to continue this vital work—with the RISE cohort, our local RISE Advisors, the Museums & Collections Committee, and broader stakeholders—planting new seeds for more inclusive narratives and meaningful experiences across Trust Museums and other sites of enslavement under BNT’s care.

At National Trust (UK) site, Dyrham Park

Engaging discussions with fellow RISE participants

Summer support from the BTA

Thanks to the continued financial and marketing support from the Bermuda Tourism Authority, we’ve been able to offer twice-daily guided tours at Verdmont Museum throughout the summer and to keep both Verdmont and Globe Museums open six days a week.

Every visitor counts—so why not bring your family and friends? Both museums are open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, with 45-minute tours at Verdmont at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. Verdmont tour tickets are available on PTix to secure your tickets in advance.

Come explore your heritage with us!

Heritage Education Updates

Anna Stevenson, Heritage Education Manager

Summer camps are in full swing with the children enjoying a wide range of activities and field trips. Campers have enjoyed learning about Bermuda's rich natural and cultural heritage with visits to our nature reserves across the island and through exploring some of the forts that in the World Heritage Site.

We are looking forward to Awesome Trails, our brand-new Fantastic Photography 2 camp, and we are thrilled to be working with archaeologist Flo Laino during our ever-popular Dirt Diggers camp, with a real-life dig at Waterville. We finish off the summer with our 'treasure hunters' camp, which see the children using critical thinking, problem-solving and team-building adventures that lead them to the lost jewels of Nathaniel Butler!