Message from the Executive Director

As August draws to a close, we have said goodbye to the last group of children at our summer day camps. Waterville was a cheerful and lively place for the past six weeks, as groups of 8–12-year-olds had fun learning about climate change, how to be shipwreck survivors like those on the Sea Venture, and much more. Education is a key part of the Trust’s mandate and our holiday camps are a great way to inspire young people to care about our environment and heritage.

Moving into the autumn, we are excited to launch our annual Raffle on 6 September. This year we again decided to sell a limited number of $100 tickets for the chance to win a fabulous i3 electric BMW. And if you aren’t lucky enough to win the car, you could find yourself with a Pedego electric bicycle, a $1,000 Lindo’s voucher, or a $500 Belco voucher. Tickets will be on sale via our website, from reception at Waterville or at the Trustworthy store in the Globe Museum, St. George’s. If you are interested in helping us sell raffle tickets please contact Jordan Smith at jsmith@bnt.bm or 236-6483 x 215. Thanks for your support!

Our gorgeous 2023 calendar will be on sale next week. It features photographs of BNT’s natural and cultural collections by Meredith Andrews. You can pick up copies at Waterville and Trustworthy as well as bookstores and other locations around the island – get yours quickly while stocks last.

We are pleased to be reopening the popular Trust Treasures shop at Waterville for the autumn, starting on 23 September for members only and then on the 24 September to the general public. Donations are most gratefully accepted – can you find ‘one good thing’ to give? We’re also looking for volunteer sales staff, so if you could spare an hour or two on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday each week, please get in touch.

Finally, mark your calendars for the annual BNT Christmas Walkabout in the World Heritage Site on the evening of Friday 2 December! Stay tuned for more information nearer the time.

Karen Border

Executive Director

Natural Heritage Updates

Myles Darrell, Head of Natural Heritage, on the risks of not taking our duty of care seriously

Nature Reserves are for Nature

A cloud passed over the happy tradition of camping over the Cup Match/Emancipation Day holiday weekend, when this year campers moved into Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve, a Class A protected area.

Camping is without doubt an important part of our heritage, enabling families to gather to enjoy spending time with each other in the great outdoors. But it need not be at the expense of another crucial aspect of Bermudian heritage: our unique and irreplaceable environment sheltered by nature reserves.

What is worrying is how divided our community becomes when everyone is talking and information is lacking.

We would like to help the public understand that parks are for people, and nature reserves are for nature. There is a difference, and it’s important.

The legislated objective for our parks is: “To protect sufficient land as amenity parkland for the passive and active recreational enjoyment of the public”.
On the other hand: “Bermuda's nature reserves serve as critical habitat for the island's most threatened protected species.”

Designated nature reserves have rules to ensure protection of Bermuda’s most vulnerable species. They are effectively living museums as they are the only remaining spaces where some of the island’s most vulnerable native and endemic flora and fauna are able to exist. The public and private time, effort and money invested in these spaces over the decades is for a reason: we, the people, have agreed that they are important for the health of our island home.

The mantra “take only pictures and leave only footprints” is especially important in Bermuda where only 3% of our land mass is designated Nature Reserve (nearly half of which is in the stewardship of the National Trust). That means that people take priority in 97% of Bermuda!

Campers do not mean to harm the environment, but there is no question that camping is a high-impact activity with many unintended consequences for flora and fauna of which most people are simply unaware. For example, camping means food, which attracts rats that can be devastating to nesting seabirds. The very presence of humans nearby can cause some birds, such as Cardinals, to abandon their nests – you wouldn’t even know that had happened.

As a Bermudian whose family was camping long before my existence, I want to see the camping tradition flourish; it brings families together, draws people into nature, takes us away from electronic devices. But we need to do it without harming the natural world, because this belongs to the whole community and we depend on it more than we sometimes appreciate.

Travesty at Shark Hole

Another issue creating headlines is the private home development at Shark Hole on Harrington Sound Road. The Trust objected to this development and to the 2011 Special Development Order (SDO) that paved the way for the devastation of this important natural coastal area.

Once the excavation began on the Shark Hole project, many people began to share their deep concern via social media. This is important; it helps to galvanize public opinion and shows the government what the people are thinking.

But by the time the excavators have moved in, unfortunately, it’s too late. Engaging in the Planning process at the front end has the greatest likelihood of success. The good news is that the process has become more user-friendly with the creation of the customer self-service portal (CCS) on the Department of Planning website. The department has also set up a sign-up service which will email you every time a new development is proposed. Almost all the tools you need to investigate any aspect of an application are now available from the comfort of your home.

At the Trust we will always advocate for our natural and cultural heritage and are so thankful for the support that enables us to do that, but we’d like to encourage everyone to take an active role in the process. Let your own voice be heard and together we can work to protect our Island home. If you’d like to be part of the change we all want to see, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re always happy to hear from you.

They’re the survivors!

Drought conditions have proved difficult this summer but just as many of us had started buying water it finally rained! The first thing to stop when the tank is low is watering the garden, so I’m sure I’m not the only one with a garden full of dry weeds and shriveled pumpkin vines. Even mature trees have been losing leaves and wilting as they struggle to manage dry conditions.

That said, our native and endemic flora have evolved to survive such challenges, so they are a joy to have in the garden in the hot, dry summer. They have lower maintenance requirements and will minimize water use, and because they are so resilient they support more wildlife and continue to look good throughout the year.

I’ve often heard it said that our natives aren’t that exciting or colorful, but I beg to differ and find there is always something in flower here in Bermuda. The Saltwater Marsh Mallow is one of many natives that flower in the heat of summer and bring life to the garden. I encourage you to keep an eye out for this relatively rare native. It can be found at Eve’s Pond in Hamilton Parish.

I know I must sometimes sound like a broken record when it comes to promoting our natives and endemics, but challenging weather conditions – including drought and hurricanes – surely demonstrate my point most effectively!

Cultural Heritage Updates

Dr. Charlotte Andrews, Head of Cultural Heritage

Curating our calendar

Bermudian photographer Meredith Andrews has created exquisite new works of art for every month of the Trust’s 2023 calendar which celebrates the Trust’s natural and cultural heritage collections. The Trust team worked with Meredith to brainstorm the collections concept and to source samples from BNT’s museums, nature reserves and other locations.

Co-curators in this process included Bermuda Rose Society members Diana Antonition, Clare Russell and John Howells who sourced and prepared the roses for Meredith’s ombre effect. Bermudian summer student volunteer Maya Luthi helped to select cultural heritage collections—such as archaeological artefacts—pulling and returning them to exhibits and stores.

Natural heritage collections had to be quickly arranged and photographed to keep them looking fresh. We used hidden plinths to safely float porcelain collections beside one another. Meredith leaned over or used a small ladder to get the necessary angle or height to frame her precise compositions.

Digging into Early Bermuda

Dr. Michael Jarvis and a team of 15 American, British and Bermudian students spent several weeks this summer excavating at Smith’s Island. The team worked for weeks in the grueling heat, but made significant progress with the multi-year excavation.

Bermuda National Trust is not the only local partner for the Smith’s Island Archaeology Project. Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo Director Dr. Ian Walker and his team provided valuable help with immigration and use of a boat for the entire season. The Department of Parks provided reasonably-priced housing on Paget Island for the group just across the water. St. George’s Supermart once again provided the team with food from excess buffet stock, keeping them well-fed for the long days.

In his well-established tradition of sharing his findings with the public, Dr. Jarvis provided Trust Talks at the start and end of the season: at Globe Museum on Plough Day, and at Waterville as the season concluded. While reflecting on the season’s findings, Dr. Jarvis also launched his latest book ‘Isle of Devils, Isle of Saints: An Atlantic History of Bermuda’, signing copies provided by the Bermuda Bookstore for Trust Talk attendees. Catch up on the 2022 dig finds and fun at the Smith’s Island Archaeology Project blog.

Health-Care Heroines

“Health-Care Heroines: Black Bermudian Nurses and the Struggle for Equality”, the Department of Culture’s newest film, is now available for viewing here on YouTube. BNT Council member Meredith Ebbin was the principal researcher for the film and a companion exhibit.

Floored by generosity

BNT is grateful for recent donations to the Trust’s collections, museums and upcoming auction. Among other kind donors, Peter and Lisa Bubenzer and the estate of the late Fay and Geoffrey Elliott donated rugs, furniture and homewares. Their gifts will expand the Trust’s historic holdings, enhance experiences at Tucker House, Globe and Verdmont museums, or raise vital funds for the Trust’s operations.

Heritage at Risk

Victoria and Albert Lodge

This is part of a series of architectural articles by the Bermuda National Trust to highlight some of Bermuda's endangered historic buildings.

by Linda Abend and Margie Lloyd

The Grand United Order of Oddfellows was founded in Bermuda in 1848 when a lodge building was built in St George’s called Somers Pride of India Lodge No. 899. Brother lodges, Alexandrina Lodge No. 1026 in Hamilton and Victoria and Albert Lodge No. 1027 in Somerset, were formed in 1852. The members of Victoria and Albert Lodge met on the first and third Fridays of each month at an unknown Ely’s Harbour location.

In 1896 William Alexander Swan, Henry Thomas Cann, Henry Anderson Simmons, John Saunders Wilson and Albert Smith Gilbert, as Trustees of Victoria and Albert Lodge No. 1027 Grand United Order of Oddfellows, purchased land near St James Church for £160 from tavern keeper Albert James Williamson. On 24th May 1899 the steamer Syren was chartered to convey passengers to Somerset for the laying of the corner stone of the new lodge building.

Click here to read the full article.

Heritage Education

Summer Camps Update

During the month of August, we have held four holiday day camps for children 8-12 with the themes Shipwreck Survivors, Fantastic Photography and Climate Change Agents. Activities ranged from building model settlers’ cabins, to collecting ocean plastic and constructing eco-houses out of trash. The camps were all fully subscribed, and the children have had a huge amount of fun whilst developing skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity.

An Update from our Maintenance Team

Our Maintenance Team put a lot of effort into maintaining our properties. Here are some highlights of some of the work they have accomplished over the past month.

Part-Time Shop Manager

19 September - 23 December

The Bermuda National Trust is seeking a part-time, temporary manager for its Trust Treasures shop and Christmas Pop-Up Shop at Waterville, 2 Pomander Road, Paget. This job may suit a retired person with retail experience.

Trust Treasures

The shop will be open from 23 September to 26 November. It sells donated items of high quality such as artwork, fine china, ornaments, silver and brass, jewelry, rugs, general antiques and curios, especially Bermudiana. It will open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and the sales staff are primarily volunteers. The manager will work ten hours a week for this period.

Christmas Pop-Up Shop

The Christmas shop will open from 3 to 23 December, Tuesday to Saturday and is primarily staffed by volunteers. It sells Christmas ornaments and decorations, gifts and stocking stuffers, including many Bermuda-made items. The manager will work 12 hours a week for this period.

Responsibilities include:

coordinating and overseeing volunteers, including covering for absences
managing the finances, with weekly reconciliation of cash and credit card sales
sorting and pricing donated items (with volunteer help)
sourcing, ordering and pricing merchandise for the Christmas shop
keeping the shop well-displayed and attractive

Preference will be given to those with retail, volunteer management and administrative experience. A warm and friendly personality and good customer service skills are essential.

Hours are flexible but will include times the shop is closed (for sorting and organizing) and times it is open (to support volunteers or cover shifts if necessary). Salary is $20 per hour.

Letters of application should be sent to Karen Border karen.border@bnt.bm by 5pm on Thursday 8 September. Please provide contact details for two referees.