Message from the Executive Director | |
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Climate change has been high in the news again, with the COP26 conference taking place in Glasgow. Here at the Trust, we have been preparing to take part in the Youth Climate Summit at BUEI on 22-27 November and working on a short video that highlights what we do at BNT to help mitigate the global climate emergency.
Our biggest contribution is protecting open space. We now care for some 277 acres of land, from our mangrove park at Waterville, to Devonshire and Paget marshes, Sherwin Nature Reserve in Warwick, Gilbert and Gladys Morrell reserves in Somerset, Spittal Pond, Stokes Point in St. George’s, and many other smaller reserves around the island. Including our three Buy Back Bermuda nature reserves jointly owned with the Audubon Society, we ‘hold in trust’ green space in every parish of Bermuda.
In the past year alone, we have planted over 350 carbon-absorbing native and endemic trees on our own reserves and elsewhere. And this year we are excited to offer sustainable Christmas trees for rent! Instead of purchasing a cut, imported tree, or buying a plastic one – both of which have a large carbon footprint – you can help fight climate change by renting a potted cedar that will be planted out in the new year. You can read more about the programme below, and be sure to sign up quickly, as there are only 100 Trust Trees available.
Even our Auction helps fight climate change. The manufacture of furniture has a huge carbon footprint, and by recycling used furniture to new owners we reduce demand for new furniture.
From educating students about climate change to incorporating climate change mitigation into our strategic planning and programme development, actively combatting the climate emergency is central to all of the Trust’s heritage work.
In global terms what we do may seem insignificant, but it is through the cumulative effect of every action that we make a difference. This is your achievement, as BNT can only do all this thanks to the support of our members and donors. Thank you and congratulations!
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Karen Border
Executive Director
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Bermuda National Trust is a 2021-22 participant in Re-imagining International Sites of Enslavement (RISE), a knowledge-sharing programme that brings together managers of sites around the Atlantic with a connection to the slave trade. The programme is a collaboration between International National Trusts Organisation (INTO) and the American National Trust for Historic Preservation. Practitioners working at INTO member sites are invited to share their experience of interpreting the history of slavery with their peers, with the support of Elon Cook-Lee, Director of Interpretation and Education at the NTHP.
The RISE programme will strengthen the Trust’s reinterpretation of the many sites under our care and curation associated with the enslavement of people of African descent and related histories of Black resistance and empowerment. We recognise the need to carefully reflect upon, and expand in collaboration with the community, both the stories we tell and the ways we tell them. RISE will help us to do this in ways aligned with the forefront of heritage research and practice. We invite community members who would like to learn more about our participation in RISE and the evolving interpretative plan for the Trust’s museums, wider historic sites, collections and other heritage related to enslavement to contact Head of Cultural Heritage Dr. Charlotte Andrews.
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BNT Joins International Call to Action
Environmental groups unite in climate crisis battle
On the eve of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, the Bermuda National Trust (BNT) is joining national trusts worldwide in calling for an end to the use of peat moss for gardening. The initiative is being led by the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), of which BNT is a member.
What is Peat? Peat is partly decomposed plant matter that builds up over thousands of years in waterlogged marshy areas, creating peatlands and bogs found in 175 countries, particularly in northern Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.
Also known as peat moss, it is a dark earthy substance popular with gardeners. However, its most significant value to our world is its ability to store carbon dioxide, one of the leading greenhouse gases contributing to the climate crisis. Worldwide, peatlands store twice as much carbon dioxide as forests, making them essential to climate change mitigation. Peatlands are also home to numerous rare species of plants and animals.
As government leaders (Bermuda included) gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, 31 October – 12 November, to consider urgent climate action, national trusts are calling for a ban on the harvesting, sale and use of horticultural peat. We are also, as individual organisations calling on our supporters to ban the use of peat in their gardens.
As a small island, Bermuda is highly vulnerable to the severe repercussions of climate change. It is for this reason that the Bermuda National Trust has joined this international call to action and asks you to support the effort to protect the world’s irreplaceable peatlands by being peat-free in your own gardening.
To assist, we will schedule further workshops on alternatives to use of peat moss in the garden. Climate change is the single most massive challenge to the safety and health of our planet today, but we can all do something to help.
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Celebrating Malcolm Outerbridge at Sherwin Nature Reserve | |
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Thanks to a project in Malcolm Outerbridge's memory at Sherwin Nature Reserve, he will be remembered by his community long into the future. On 28 October, Malcolm's family, friends and neighbours came together to honour him at the "unveiling" of a special area with a wooden bench and bronze plaque in his memory at Sherwin Nature Reserve South.
Preparations for the installation included hundreds of hours of work by some 50 volunteers working with the Trust's Head of Conservation, Myles Darrell. Two truckloads of bottles and domestic and commercial waste were removed from the neighbouring wooded area. Over 100 plants were added to beautify the space, which is now a peaceful upland hillside forest.
The ceremony brought Malcolm's loved ones together to celebrate life, community and Bermuda's heritage. They shared stories, sang songs and prayed together. His mother, father and sister commemorated the day by planting a Bermuda cedar tree in the space.
Malcolm was brutally murdered on this stretch of the Warwick Railway Trail 10 years ago when he was just 18. He was a fine young man, a role model who overcame his own challenges and was helping others on their way. His family, friends and community miss him dearly, and Malcolm's bench will provide them with a peaceful area to sit and remember their loved ones. The Trust Conservation team is pleased to have made this possible.
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Volunteers in Our Spaces
Over the past months, volunteers have been working at numerous Trust properties – meaningfully contributing to efforts to combat climate change by labouring in nature reserves, planting trees and removing invasives.
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We had a great team at Marjorie Jackson Nature Reserve in Somerset on 30 October. It was great to see a diverse group of people come together to better our island home. Almost everyone was new to volunteering with the Trust and they did a fantastic job. In fact, two young men turned up to build up their community hours, and they were as hard-working and productive as some of the professionals!
A group of young people meet at Waterville each Friday afternoon at 3:45 pm, and they have been transforming the property, learning about horticulture, conservation and putting their knowledge to work, hands-on in the Waterville Garden. They are a diverse group of students from schools across the island. If you know a young person needing to get some community hours in and with an interest in gardening, conservation and hanging out with a cool group of people, reach out and sign up for our AIM Youth Volunteer Programme.
Things at Paget Marsh continue to get better. We still haven’t been able to open the boardwalk, but we are moving along with the removal of invasive species and planting of native and endemic trees and shrubs. The group of young people coming out each Sunday has been growing and changing as young people complete their community service hours. Some, like Brandon Sangster, are becoming veterans after two years working, and he is now able to pass on skills to others in the group. It’s inspiring to watch.
Thank you to everyone who gives up time to work in Bermuda’s beautiful natural areas. We need to protect these special spaces; as beautiful as they are, they are way more important than just a pretty space. Conserving undeveloped areas – including coastal areas – is crucial to the health and safety of Bermuda. We can all contribute – our labour and our voices.
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Work is picking up at Eve’s Pond on North Shore in Hamilton Parish. The Garden Club of Bermuda has been extremely generous, funding the installation of two new benches, located around the pond area, as well as a donation of $10,000 in honour of their 100th anniversary. As we saw last month they also went to an immense effort to create exquisite floating blooms on the pond itself. Huge thanks to the Garden Club for helping to bring this project to fulfilment.
Another exciting development is the completion of a bird blind on the western side of the pond. This will provide a vantage point for seasoned and novice bird watchers keeping an eagle eye out for the birds beginning to flock to the restored site. This has been sponsored by Eddie Wright in memory of his late wife Yvonne Wright.
As a reminder, this site was comprised of mostly invasive species before work began in 2020 to clear the site, dredge the pond and create trails for the community to access this beautiful natural area in their neighbourhood. Thanks to volunteers, more than 500 plants are now in place. We have been incredibly fortunate with the weather this summer – ie no hurricanes! – and the trees are growing well, taking a firm hold in the ground.
Planting will resume again soon – and as the weather cools, the birds will no doubt return in large numbers to enjoy this natural gem. The official opening is scheduled to take place in April of 2022.
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A new path has been installed at the Scaur Lodge property in Somerset, leading from the bus stop to Scaur Lane. It looks really good and will assist neighbours to access the bus stop more quickly, without getting too wet on rainy days. This completes phase 2 of conservation management plans for Scaur Lodge.
Aspen Re has provided the support for this project, which has included clearing and planting at the nature reserve, installation of benches and a fence. The work was carried out by volunteers and contractors and the reserve is looking much the better for it.
This phase also included the planting of more than 50 trees and ground covers over the last year. Inevitably the work included the removal of abandoned bikes, bottles and waste of all kinds. It is becoming a tranquil area for the community to enjoy – in line with the Trust’s mission to protect these natural spaces, for everyone forever.
Thank you to Aspen Re for making this possible!
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The St George’s Rest Home in 1998.
The hipped-roof addition in front of the tower was added sometime in the 20th century.
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St George’s Parish Home, 18 Secretary Road | |
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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
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Sarah Davenport, the eldest daughter of prosperous St George’s merchant, John Davenport, died in 1873 and left the sum of £400 to the St George’s Parish Vestry for the purpose of establishing “an eligible and healthy home for parishioners in need”. The Poor House, as it was originally known, was built in 1881 in the former Government House Park and enjoyed sweeping views to the ocean. It replaced an earlier ‘poor house’ near Penno’s Wharf. As an aside, Sarah’s sister, Jane, was married to William Penno, the Deputy Military Storekeeper for the British garrison. It was he who built the wharf and two-storey warehouse that still bears his name.
Poor houses in the 19th century were intended to care for the ‘worthy poor’ of the parish and not newly-arrived impoverished strangers. This was especially necessary in St George’s which saw large numbers of followers or ‘groupies’ who accompanied arriving British regiments and often put a strain on local charities. Although her history is not known, Margaret Smith was one of those in need. Born in St George’s in 1837 Margaret resided at the Poor House for almost 40 years until her death at the age of 83 in 1920.
Click here to read the full article!
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The forest of trees and bushes extend to the front façade of the building. | |
The tower with its dentil moulding and the charming chimney behind the parapet roof are not features one would expect to see on an institutional building. Brand new electric meters appear to have been recently installed. | |
Support the Bermuda National Trust's Annual Raffle and have the chance to win an 8-panel solar system installed by BE Solar. We have another 15 exciting prizes for you to win this year, including 3 Electric Pedego Bikes, gift vouchers, staycations and more! Click here to view all of the prizes | |
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Tickets are available for purchase at the following locations:
- Waterville, Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm or call 236-6483
- Frameworks
- Windy Bank Farm
- BeSolar
- Conrads, Tools & Accessories
- International Imports
- Island Construction Services
- Wadson's Farm
- Brighton Nurseries
- Port Royal Gas Station
- Dowlings Marine
- Online - Click the link below or visit our website to purchase a ticket online. You will automatically receive your ticket number and be entered into the raffle.
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By purchasing a raffle ticket, you will be supporting our conservation and preservation initiatives to protect and promote Bermuda’s natural and cultural heritage.
For more information and to volunteer to help us sell tickets, click here to sign up
or email palmetto@bnt.bm or call 236-6483.
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Trust Treasures Online Auction | |
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Have you seen our online auction?! Don't miss out on some of the fabulous items for auction including beautiful artwork, furniture, decorative items such as fine porcelain and rare figurines, sets of china, Bermudiana and more. The auction will be open until Wednesday, November 24th, 3:00 pm.
Stop by our Trust Treasures Pop-Up Shop at Waterville which is open Tuesday - Friday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm to view some of the items featured in our online auction.
Visit Handbid.com and search Trust Treasures Auction 2021 or download the Handbid app to your mobile device to stay updated on all of your bids.
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Rent a Living Christmas Tree! | |
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The Bermuda National Trust together with its sponsor Butterfield Bank and the support of Bermuda Gardens is delighted to introduce Bermuda’s first live Christmas tree rental programme.
Every year, thousands of Christmas trees are imported to Bermuda and then thrown away after the holidays. We would like to make this holiday tradition more sustainable and help fight climate change by renting out 100 small potted Bermuda Cedar trees which will bring cheer to your household for the holiday season. In January, you can return it and get your deposit back. We will plant the returned Cedars to enhance the biodiversity of our nature reserves. You will be able to visit your Christmas tree for years to come and know that you have also helped mitigate climate change.
The trees are about 2.5’ high (3’ including the pot). Cedars grow stronger and more quickly when planted out at this size. They rent for $100 for members and $120 for non-members of which $50 will be refunded on the return of a healthy tree. Care instructions will be provided with the tree.
The Trust is grateful to Bermuda Gardens for a 50% discount on the trees, and to Butterfield Bank for sponsorship of the programme (including the planting of the trees) in memory of Marcia Woolridge-Allwood.
Here is how it works:
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Click here and order your tree (or you can order it in person at Waterville).
- Pick up your tree at Waterville, 2 Pomander Road, on either Friday 3 December or Saturday 4 December.
- Enjoy your tree for six weeks over the holiday season.
- Return your (healthy) tree on Saturday 8 January and receive your deposit back.
- We will inform you in due course where your tree has been planted.
Don’t be disappointed! Sign up now to reserve your Trust Tree.
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The Bermuda National Trust | bnt.bm
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