Message from the Executive Director | |
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This is one of our busiest months, with the Plant & Bake Sale on Saturday, 15 February and the Auction & Jumble Sale running from Thursday, 27 February to Saturday, 1 March. If the weather is chilly and wet, it’s a perfect time to bake or declutter in support of BNT. And as the freesias appear and the days grow longer you may want to think about new plants for your garden. As always, we are counting on your support for these fun events, whether it is donating items, volunteering, spreading the word or coming out to buy!
February is also a great time for a refreshing walk in nature. Have you ever visited Eve’s Pond in Hamilton Parish or the Vesey Nature Reserve in Southampton? Have you taken a stroll along the refurbished boardwalk at Paget Marsh? Why not make a date with friends to visit one of these special places. If culture is more your thing, we are now offering fascinating guided tours at Verdmont regularly, and opening Globe Museum six days a week, thanks to a partnership with the Bermuda Tourism Authority.
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Karen Border
Executive Director
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Join us on Saturday, 15 February, from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon for a wonderful selection of locally cultivated native and exotic plants, perfect for your garden! You’ll also find a delicious variety of homemade baked goods, preserves, and fresh, locally grown vegetables.
Arrive early for the best selection! Coffee and tea will be available for a donation.
Volunteers & Donations Needed!
We welcome donations of plants and baked goods and need volunteers to help on the day of the event. To sign up, click here or contact jsmith@bnt.bm or call 236-6383 x 215.
- Plant donations: Accepted throughout the week leading up to the sale.
- Baked goods donations: Please deliver them on Friday, 14 February, between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm.
All donations should be dropped off at BNT Offices, Waterville, 2 Pomander Road, Paget.
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The Annual Auction & Jumble Sale is on – Join us from Sunday, 23 February – Saturday, 1 March, for the biggest recycling event of the year!
Volunteers & Donations Needed!
Bring us all your jumble, and please give us One Good Thing for the Auction.
We accept well-made items of any age, including furniture, ornaments, housewares, porcelain, silver, carpets, jewellery, maritime items, artwork, antiques, and so much more.
Volunteers needed to assist with accepting donations and during the sale.
For more information or to volunteer contact jsmith@bnt.bm or call 236-6383 x 215.
Donations can be delivered on the following days below to the Jack King Building & Commercial Slat House in Botanical Gardens, Paget.
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Natural Heritage Updates
Myles Darrell, Head of Natural Heritage
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Recently we’ve seen a worrying rise in illegal dumping. At the Trust, we are on the front line as stewards of hundreds of acres of open space, apparently regarded by some in our community as “empty spaces” to dispose of garbage. We spend hundreds of hours of staff time removing tons of waste from our nature reserves, including dumped appliances, mattresses, bikes, bags of household garbage and horticultural waste. We clear it away and the following week there’s another pile of rubbish. We can’t leave this unchecked because garbage damages the environment and perpetuates a cycle of neglect.
This is a serious national problem – not just for BNT. Of course, we collaborate closely with KBB, which does a great job, but both our organisations are under-resourced to cope with the scale of the problem island wide.
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The efforts of dedicated volunteers, however, continue to offer hope.
One such group is the Somersfield Rotary Interact Club. Their efforts recently led to the removal of an astounding 2,200 pounds of litter from a BNT property adjacent to their school. Their dedication to preserving the beauty of our environment is commendable, and their work is a reminder of the importance of community engagement in solving community problems.
We are grateful to all those who contribute, whether through volunteering, donations, or advocacy for our natural heritage. Your efforts are truly appreciated!
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Rubbish picked up in less than an hour with help from Somersfield Rotary Interact team. | |
This is what climate change looks like | |
At Devonshire Marsh, BNT is taking steps to adapt to shifting climate conditions. An area of land at the east end of the marsh traditionally used for agriculture is no longer cultivable due to rising sea levels and increasingly wet conditions. We have adopted a “rewilding” strategy for the property. While we will continue to maintain a swathe along the roadside to ensure safety and visibility exiting Somersfield and Pond House Lane, we will leave the rest of the land to recover naturally. | |
Cultural Heritage Updates
Dr. Charlotte Andrews, Head of Cultural Heritage
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Horsing Around the Island | |
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Have you ever noticed small, stepped stone structures outside pillared entrances or less grand driveways on the island? Perhaps you’ve wondered about the sink-like structures along some roads? These unassuming features predate cars and have an equestrian purpose.
The stepped structures are mounting blocks, designed to assist people — particularly women in cumbersome skirts — to mount horses. Notable examples can be found at Trust properties including Verdmont Museum in Smith’s and Cluster Cottage in Warwick. Keep an eye out for the one on Flory Duffy Hill.
The sink-like features are water troughs built to provide drinking water for horses back when they were the island’s primary mode of transport. The ones at the Paget roundabout and near the Arboretum continue to serve as refreshment spots for animals.
Other animal-friendly features exist in our landscape, such as Longford Road in Warwick, which levels out at intervals to give horses and other species a chance to rest on their journey. We are eager to record and conserve more of these historic ‘horsey’ features, so please reach out if you know of any others!
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Mounting block outside Cluster Cottage. | |
Water trough outside the Arboretum ‘presented by the 1st. In. (Infantry) Northumberland Fusiliers in memory of their stay on the island, 1931 to 1934’. | |
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Trust museums are inspiring new works of historical fiction by both local and international authors!
One such author is Bermudian Alicia Resnik, who drew inspiration from Verdmont to write her first novel, Sarys, released in 2024. Alicia’s mother, Anna Finkbeiner, a dedicated weekly volunteer at Verdmont Museum, also played a role in her daughter’s project; her artwork graces the cover of Sarys. Artist Thomas Driver, whose remarkable watercolours of Bermuda form a major part of BNT’s Elliott Collection, is featured in the novel. Alicia has had a keen interest in Verdmont since childhood when her mother provided tours at the museum. She says “Verdmont is like stepping back in time. I felt there was no better place to set Sarys.”
Another exciting new title is Craig Janacek’s The Isle of Devils (The Doctor Watson Trilogy Book 1). This novel takes place in Bermuda and St. George’s, with the Globe serving as the central location for a thrilling crime mystery. This prequel to the friendship between Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes was brought to our attention by readers who were inspired by the book to visit Globe Museum and the wider World Heritage Site. Both titles can be found on amazon.com.
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Heritage Education Updates
Anna Stevenson, Heritage Education Manager
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In January, we were delighted to partner again with the Friends of St Peter’s Church and the Department of Education on an educational experience for all P5 public primary school students. BNT ran an online teaching session on slavery in Bermuda for the students, following which they went on a field trip to St George’s where they visited Pilot Darrell’s house, St Peter’s Church and graveyard, and the memorial to Rev John Stephenson.
We also welcomed P2 students from Saltus to Verdmont to learn about old houses, and taught BHS P3s about Bermuda’s early settlement, which included a walking tour of St George’s.
In February, we are excited to begin a new collaboration with the home school network, who have booked a series of field trips to our nature reserves over the next few months, starting with Spittal Pond.
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The Bermuda National Trust | bnt.bm | |
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