Three Somersfield Academy students are on a mission to tackle invasive plant species at Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve.

Tyler DoCouto, Jaden Smith and Marco Stirling will also be preparing longtail bird houses for installation at the national park as part of their M3 community service project.

“Bermuda is our home and we want to keep Bermuda Bermuda,” Tyler, 13, told The Royal Gazette. “The invasive plant species are totally wiping out our native species and not allowing Bermuda to be Bermuda.”

Marco, 14, added that it “is important that we preserve our natural plant species. It is part of our heritage. It’s what makes Bermuda’s natural environment.”

The trio choose a subject they were all passionate about and then started the planning process last June, brainstorming over the summer.

They reached out to the Bermuda National Trust, who pointed them to Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve.

With the assistance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, they visited the area to pick a spot to work on, figure out what the work would involve and how to go about it.

“For our specific topic, we’re going to be taking students out for physical action,” Marco said. The team will be joined by their whole grade for the clean-up day tomorrow.

He added: “We’re going to be focusing on the area very close to the entrance on the coastal side. It’s going to be a whole day of work.”

Jaden, 14, explained: “We’re going to be removing some invasive plant species such as the casuarina tree.”

He added that they are also looking to remove Brazilian peppers, morning glory, Indian laurels and asparagus fern “just to name a few” .

“They are category one invasive species, meaning that these are the biggest threat to Bermuda’s natural identity.”

While their classmates will focus mainly on removing saplings, the team will be some getting help from the DENR to cut down some of the larger trees.

There are already cedar trees and some olive wood shrubs on site to plant instead. Adding that “it’s a beautiful site”, Marco said there were also plans to put a bench in the area.

But the trio have also planned to build two longtail igloos because the longtail population and the cahow population have been competing for territory.

Tyler said: “We do want to keep both species so its best to just make spaces for longtails to live.

They chose the location and the rocks will be smoothed so that a foam dome can be placed securely. This will be covered with concrete before an opening is cut.

“Cahows need complete darkness to nest, so if you leave a hole in the side of the igloo, natural light still gets in,” Tyler explained.

The group have created a Facebook page and they are also working on a website, which they hope to get up and running in the next few weeks, to raise awareness.

And tomorrow, Tyler will be taking pictures and shoot footage to incorporate into a video they plan to showcase at the community project day fair in May.

But the trio plan to continue their work even after the initial project is complete.

“We wouldn’t just want to drop it because we’ve put so much work into getting the project up and running and communicating with those at the Bermuda National Trust,” Marco said.

According to Tyler, this would hopefully involve more clean-up days and possibly expanding these so the general public can join the effort.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/TylerJadenMarcoCommunityProject