Message from the Executive Director | |
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May is Heritage Month in Bermuda, and what better time to focus attention on our Trust Museums. Verdmont in Smith’s Parish, and Tucker House and the Globe in St George’s, have been open as museums for many decades. However, changing times and changing expectations of what a museum should be means that it is time to take a strategic look at these three properties: what they offer for visitors and the community, and how we can make them more financially sustainable.
The recent ceiling collapse at Tucker House has underlined the urgency of this review. A safety inspection has determined that several of the tray ceilings are unsafe and must be replaced, so the museum will be closed for renovations for some time. We will be taking the opportunity to make other upgrades and move forward with some exciting plans for this special historic building.
Head of Cultural Heritage Charlotte Andrews has spent the last few months reviewing past plans and holding focus sessions with groups who can give valuable input. With the advice of the Museums & Collections Committee, the Heritage Committee and Council members, she has put together a vision and strategic plan for the museums which we look forward to sharing with members shortly. Your thoughts on the plans will be very welcome.
I also want to say a big thank you to those who have so kindly supported our 2024 Annual Appeal. Protecting and promoting Bermuda’s natural and cultural heritage is an expensive business and we are very grateful for every contribution! If you haven’t already given, we hope that you will consider donating as far as you are able. At BNT, we don’t take your generosity for granted, but we do believe that what we do for Bermuda is worthy of your continued support.
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Karen Border
Executive Director
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Natural Heritage Updates
Myles Darrell, Head of Natural Heritage
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April has been another awesome month in terms of new connections and significant progress in projects across our nature reserves. I know I am getting repetitive, but we really can’t fulfill our mission without the support of volunteers and donors. So, a big thank you to all.
I’d also like to acknowledge the passing of Colonel Michael Darling in April. His contribution to the Trust – and by extension to Bermuda – was remarkable. Under his leadership, dozens of acres of open space were protected, and he was a fearless advocate for the environment. In his youth, he worked on the project to save our native cedar trees, and since them has planted a grove of 100 of the species on his own property, where they continue to thrive.
Every year, he donated a selection of plants to raise funds at the Annual Plant & Bake Sale, and every year he worked there, dispensing advice to customers. His own garden was amazing, and he was very generous in sharing the fruits of his labours with the various feeding programmes. The Colonel was a true Bermuda legend, and the day he passed away, I planted a cedar tree at Sherwin Nature Reserve, where it will grow tall to stand guard over Warwick Pond long into the future.
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Volunteer Impact in our Nature Reserves | |
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More than 70 corporate volunteers from Elementum, Legal & General, and Orbis joined us to tend to the juvenile plantings at Spittal Pond Nature Reserve and add a variety of plants to increase diversity richness, and abundance at the reserve. It was a success and the plants are thriving. Now we await the real test: hurricane season! At Sherwin Nature Reserve we have held two corporate events (Hamilton Re and Howden) to continue efforts to develop a native and endemic stronghold at the reserve. The introduction of 30 more cedars and many more shrubs and ground covers has pushed our vision forward.
The Boys Brigade from St. Paul’s Church as always joined in again at Paget Marsh Nature Reserve and, while the team was small, they were mighty and eager to help. This time we focused on caring for the juvenile trees planted earlier in the year, placing mulch around trees and picking up litter to ensure things are ready for summer heat and visitors. Students from Bermuda College came out to work on Rebecca Middleton Nature Reserve, their neighbourhood reserve. With its rich diversity, it’s a great place to learn to identify native and endemic plants. At the Trust, we are all about contextualised learning and this was a perfect example, involving students in the development and maintenance of the space while upgrading its biodiversity.
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The Somerset Brownies consistently care for the Somerset Long Bay Nature Reserve, and we couldn’t be more thankful for their efforts. They helped us add plants to last year’s foreshore development to aid in stabilising the bank. We also installed a new table and benches to offer more amenity value to the area.
Last month’s Community Volunteer Day was held at Vesey Nature Reserve. I strongly encourage everyone to spend time at this lovely reserve. The vistas are incredible, the birding has been awesome and the quarry provides opportunities to learn about our cultural heritage.
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Coming up next: Community Volunteer Day at Somerset Long Bay Nature Reserve | |
We’re still organising our community days one Saturday each month, and if you’d like to join us for a tour and some volunteer work, come and join us on May 11 at Somerset Long Bay Nature Reserve. Click here to sign up! | |
Cultural Heritage Updates
Dr. Charlotte Andrews, Head of Cultural Heritage
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Trust Museums in Heritage Month | |
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What better time to invite you than on International Museums Day on Saturday 18 May to visit Verdmont Museum from 10am - 3pm to discuss our vision on site for our central historic house museum. We extend an especially warm welcome to residents from the surrounding Collector’s Hill and wider Smith’s areas, who may live on original Verdmont land and may have a special interest in our elevating Verdmont as a cultural tourism attraction and community heritage hub. We will also share our plans for our two museums in St George’s with everyone who comes by.
Then on Thursday 30 May from 11am - 6pm we invite the entire community but especially our fellow World Heritage Site partners, residents and businesses to visit Globe Museum to learn more about our plans for Globe and nearby Tucker House, as well as Verdmont in Smith’s. Our vision for our east end museums should align with our partners and ultimately feed into the World Heritage Site Management Plan and its interpretive plan as much as possible.
We truly want to hear your thoughts about the museums plan and to reflect your ideas and concerns to ensure our museums meet community needs and are financially sustainable moving forward. Trust museums are your museums, so come be a part of the plan!
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A Pink Picnic organised by and featuring the incomparable Joy T Barnum wowed a large audience lounging across Verdmont Museum’s north lawn enjoying gourmet picnic baskets. Singer songwriter sisters Moya & Iona opened for Joy, and her band elevated her incredible performance.
Joy’s outdoor concert is one of many event rentals that bring vitality and new audiences to Verdmont. Many of these contribute to a good cause, like the Pink Picnic did in raising money for PALS, besides raising critical revenue for BNT.
The Trust Museums plan seeks to build on the feeling of potential in the air during this very special event, which Joy expressed beautifully in saying, “I want us to take a look at the National Trust properties and know that it is for us. It is for us to come and see. It is for us to remember our past and fix our future.” Thank you, Joy—we couldn’t have said it, and definitely couldn’t have sung it, better ourselves!
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World Heritage archaeological collections boost | |
We are excited and grateful to have been awarded a $25,000 UNESCO grant by the Corporation of St George’s. The Minister responsible for the Municipalities approved our request to support our Archaeological Collections Management Essential Upgrades Project.
The project will provide better conditions for archaeological collections recovered from or associated with the 'Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda' World Heritage Site. This project is essential for BNT's preservation and interpretation of artefacts and other finds from over 40 years of archaeological research carried out by BNT in collaboration with international partners.
These essential collection management upgrades are also an important step in our plans for Globe and Tucker House museums. The upgrades will do much to help us establish a working and public-facing archaeology lab in the cellar of Globe. They will also support other interactive archaeology exhibits in both Trust St George’s museums as well physical and digital curation of collections across the World Heritage Site.
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The Trust submitted an objection to Policy HE.1 regarding Listed Buildings in the Draft City of Hamilton Plan 2024. We expressed concern for the Policy’s implementation on two fronts:
- That only nine buildings are listed in the City, despite BNT previously determining with Government that dozens more have special historical or architectural interest.
- That there is a lack of infrastructure or low practical support for the ‘sensitive restoration, maintenance and reuse’ of listed buildings.
Beyond these concerns and those we expressed last year in response to the 2023 Consultative Draft, we are generally supportive of the City plan. We commend the efforts of the Department of Planning team to create a plan supporting a vision ‘To facilitate a vibrant and sustainable City of local and international appeal, offering a broad range of services and experiences within a pedestrian-focused and high quality public realm’. And we encourage everyone to follow the City plan’s implementation.
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Heritage Education Updates
Anna Stevenson, Heritage Education Manager
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We started off April with our ever-popular Fantastic Photography Camp. Campers travelled from east to west practicing new skills.
It was a busy month at Spittal Pond where the Annual Children’s Nature Walk took place. As always, we are grateful to our lead sponsor Arch Re, the professional station guides, and volunteers without whom this popular event could not take place. This year we welcomed Andrew Stevenson, who shared his knowledge about humpback whales and his research with the children. Additionally, over 120 students from Primary 3 and Primary 4 at BHS visited the nature reserve to learn about habitats and threats to the environment.
Wrapping up the month, Saltus's Primary 2 Students visited Verdmont where they learned about the lives of children long ago, and what changes and similarities there are between toys of the past and those of today. The students loved getting hands-on with marbles, pick-up sticks, spinning tops, and nine-pin bowls.
| Children's Nature Walk 2024 | |
Aerial view of Government House taken from the northeast. | |
Government House, 11 Langton Hill | |
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This is part of a series of architectural articles by the Bermuda National Trust that highlight some of Bermuda’s endangered historic buildings.
By Linda Abend and Margie Lloyd, Bermuda National Trust
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Begun in 1882 Bermuda’s Government House was finished in time for the arrival of its first occupant in 1892. The building’s style and size was considered very impressive for the time. Now in 2024 its deteriorating and unsafe condition has forced Governor Rena Lalgie and her family and staff to relocate.
Click here to read more about this important house, the latest in our series of articles about buildings at risk.
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The Bermuda National Trust | bnt.bm | |
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