With ?Sustainable Development? a hot topic at the moment, the education department of the Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) is doing its part to up the public?s information with a special course to be conducted by the Island?s leading scientific experts and naturalists. It will include site visits and give participants a unique opportunity to observe the diversity of the Island?s natural environment.

The six-week course, which begins on Thursday, promises to be ?the most comprehensive ever undertaken?, and will include Sunday afternoon field trips to out-of-the-way or off-limits locations.

These will include the mangroves at Hungry Bay; Walsingham jungle; Admiral?s Cave in Hamilton Parish which is not normally open to the public; Nonsuch Island Nature Reserve, with its unique cahow nesting sites. At Spittal Pond, participants will be accompanied by Bermuda Aububon Society president Andrew Dobson, and it is suggested binoculars be carried.

The Thursday evening lectures will be given by local experts and naturalists, each of whom has great enthusiasm and passion for their respective topics, and for Bermuda. Their names and topics are as follows:

Jennifer Gray ? Bermuda?s sea turtles; Patrick Talbot, head aquarist at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) ? Bermuda?s fish; Government Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros ? An in-depth look at Bermuda?s wetlands; Dr. Samantha DuPutron, Bermuda Institute of Oceanographic Science ? Bermuda?s coral reefs; Andrew Dobson ? Bermuda?s avifauna (birds); Dr. David Wingate ? Man?s impact on Bermuda.

Of particular interest when looking at sustainable development will be Dr. Annie Glassspool?s presentation, ?Helping Bermuda?s Environment ? Reduce Your Ecological Footprint?. Jennifer Gray and Lisa Greene will jointly discuss how to attract wildlife to one?s garden.

The shared mission of the BZS and BAMZ is ?to inspire appreciation and care of island environments?.

Speaking on behalf of the BZS, education officer Holly Mitchell said the organisation ?firmly believes that if Bermuda is serious about sustainable development and preserving our Island, then we all have a collective responsibility to learn as much as possible about our environment so we have a better understanding of what we can do in our everyday lives to preserve it.

?Our natural history course offers just such as opportunity. People are invariably surprised and fascinated by the extent of what they didn?t know about Bermuda after attending our courses.?

The natural history course runs from September 21 to November 5. The Thursday evening lectures will be from 6.30 p.m. to 8.45 p.m., and the Sunday afternoon field trips from approximately 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m., although times may vary depending on transportation requirements.

For lecture and field trip schedules, and registration information, ( 293-2727 ext. 116, e-mail education.bzsgov.bm or visit the BAMZ website: www.bamz.org