After the roar of traffic and crash-bang of construction in Hamilton, visiting Somerset Long Bay on a weekday afternoon is like stepping into the tranquillity of a quiet cathedral.

For countless birds, endemic plants and even a couple of cows, it really is a sanctuary. Unfortunately, as the construction industry booms places like this are increasingly threatened by buzz saws and bulldozers.

This is why the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Audubon Society have launched ?Buy Back Bermuda?, an ambitious two-year plan to raise $1.7 million to purchase a piece of privately owned land that runs alongside the Somerset Long Bay National Park, and a Bermuda Audubon nature reserve.

On an unusually warm and bright winter day, Lifestyle reporter Jessie Moniz and photographer Glenn Tucker met with the Trust?s Communications and Event Manager Kate Berry, and Environmental Conservation Officer Dorcas Roberts, to take a look at the land the Bermuda National Trust is trying to ?buy back?.

The owner of the property would prefer to withhold his name.

?With housing being as densely packed as it is in Somerset, this open space is crucial,? said Mrs. Berry. ?Can you imagine if they put six condos up here? We would lose one of the most beautiful bits of property on the island. When you look out to sea there is absolutely nothing. That water is so shallow and stunning. To think it could possibly only be seen by the six houses would be devastating.?

The beachfront property of 2.86 acres, when combined with the adjacent Audubon reserve and Long Bay National Park, will form an extended protected area along the full length of the Long Bay shoreline, creating a total of almost ten acres. The beach, woodland and pond will provide a haven for residents and tourists alike, as well as local and migratory birds.

?The Trust and Audubon want to preserve something like this,? Mrs. Berry said. ?As a whole that will be ten acres where people can enjoy wildlife.?

Part of the land in question currently hosts a cattle herd. When Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Berry showed the reporter the cow pasture, most of the cattle crowded against the fence, while one cow preferred to remain ankle-deep in a nearby pond.

The cattle, all of them just barely out of the calf stage, showed their appreciation for the Bermuda National Trust by munching on a camera bag, sneaker laces and part of an expensive shirt.

The Trust and Audubon Society are currently working on a five year maintenance and development plan and they are not sure if the cows will stay. At the moment the cows keep the grass down, and keep people out.

?Over here is all pasture right now,? Mrs. Roberts explained. ?We are proposing to replant this area with endemic and native plants. Here there will be a nature trail. It will be an interpretative trail telling you what birds and plants you see.?

Mrs. Berry suddenly pointed toward a kingfisher zipping across the pond. As if on cue, a heron erupted from the underbrush and took off into the sky.

?See, see!? Mrs. Roberts crowed triumphantly. ?There birds here.?

The murky pond was created by the owner of the land who was inspired by the Bermuda Audubon Society.

?You can see that there are a lot of birds flying around right now,? said Mrs. Berry.

?It is a real sanctuary,? said Mrs. Roberts.

She said the Trust and the Bermuda Audubon Society had worked together in the past on Paget Marsh. In fact, it was the Audubon Society that was initially approached by the current land owner.

?So Audubon came to us and asked if we would be interested in doing a joint campaign,? said Mrs. Berry. ?That was in July of last year. We went on board with them and started this ?Buy Back Bermuda? campaign. It was launched in September 2004.?

Through letter-writing, newspaper adverts, posters and on the street canvassing, the campaign organisers raised $900,000 in just six months.

?The response that we have had to date has been unbelievable,? said Mrs. Berry. ?It is not just wealthy people who have been donating. Montessori Prep School in Smith?s Parish raised $3,500 towards this campaign. That is cool. That is just amazing.?

Mrs. Robert said it shows how much Bermudians really do care about open spaces.

?We are looking for the support of every single Bermudian, because this is for Bermudians,? said Mrs. Berry. ?Although we have our corporate sponsors and wealthy Bermudians, actually we want every Bermudian to give. No one person who gives is more significant than the other.?

She said it would be amazing to one day bring her children to Somerset Long Bay and know that she had helped to preserve a piece of Bermuda for them.

?It is recommended that ten percent of the land in Bermuda be open space and we are under that now,? she said.

If the ?Buy Back Bermuda? campaign is successful, the Bermuda National Trust may continue with it to purchase other important properties.

?This fits in so well because this is a third part of what is already a nature reserve and a park,? said Mrs. Berry. ?We can?t just go and buy a random bit of land for no reason. There definitely has to be some kind of thought process behind the purchase.?

She said the Government has so far been very supportive of the project, and the Bermuda National Trust is hoping there will be something for the project in the next budget.

?But the budget hasn?t been released so we don?t know yet,? said Mrs. Berry.

She said with all the development happening in Bermuda, time is of the essence.

?The Trust is not anti-development at all, but it is important that not everything goes to development,? she said. ?In ten years time we can?t suddenly turn around and take this land back. We have to buy the land now.?

She said the whole point of the Bermuda National Trust and the National Trust Act was to preserve Bermuda for future generations.

?It?s for everyone for always,? she said. ?That is our absolute mantra.?

She said when the property is purchased, there will be a careful balance between the need to provide a sanctuary for birds and the need to educate people about the environment.

?It has to serve both purposes,? Mrs. Berry said. ?With the site being the size that it is we can do that. There will be some kind of nature trail so that people can see these birds and enjoy the natural element of that. They will also have access to the beach.?

Mrs. Roberts said the Buy Back Bermuda plan was a good idea because it would encourage more people to sell their land to the Bermuda National Trust.

?Many of the people who would want to give their land to the Audubon or the Bermuda National Trust, can?t afford to,? said Mrs. Roberts. ?Someone might want to give their property to the Trust or the Audubon but they can?t because they need the money, and the income that comes with the land. This allows people to have that income. The gentleman who is selling this didn?t want it to go to development.?

In an earlier statement, Bermuda National Trust president Wayne Jackson said a recent Bermuda Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan identified the increasing rarity of open space in Bermuda.

?Each acre preserved enriches the island as a place to live and breathe for everyone,? said Mr. Jackson.

?This unique opportunity for this acquisition at Somerset Long Bay means that it is important that we join forces and combine our efforts to save this land for future generations to enjoy.?

Andrew Dobson, president of the Bermuda Audubon Society said: ?For generations, Bermuda?s natural beauty has been the backdrop against which we have lived our lives. It is impossible to distinguish between the physical beauty of Bermuda and ?living? in Bermuda, for they are one and the same. Be it coast or countryside, garden or park, they all combine to provide Bermuda?s beautiful environment. This land is an ideal nature reserve and the pond provides a valuable habitat for resident and migratory birds.?