Today?s Green Day, petitions, an education campaign on the importance of the Botanical Gardens and an upcoming celebration day are all part of a multipronged strategy to save the park from potential development as a new hospital site.

Despite the announcement by Government that the plan to use ten acres of the 36-acre park to build a new hospital is now under review for six months and that other potential sites ? such as the Arboretum and the hospital?s current site ? will also be looked at again, the group Save The Gardens rolled out its strategy yesterday.

Conservationist Stuart Hayward introduced members of the group as they bannered and flanked a Persea tree in the park they are determined to save.

?Save the Gardens is both the name and the primary objective of an organisation comprised of a diverse group of concerned citizens,? he said. ?Most of the individuals involved in Save the Gardens represent larger organisations that make regular use of, and place high value on, the Botanical Gardens and other open spaces.?

Building on open space is never cost-effective, said Mr. Hayward, a member of Government?s Sustainable Development RoundTable.

?We cannot replace a space like this,? he told. ?The monetary value of just one tree has not been calculated ? it?s in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition the history and research value of the gardens is too important. Would you knock down a hospital to put in a Botanical Gardens? No! It is as absurd to take a third of the Botanical Gardens for a hospital.?

The first action the group is asking the public to take is to mark Green Day today by wearing green in support of their cause. ?Our aim is to show support for sustainable development and improved health care while ensuring our public parks and open spaces are fully protected,? said STG member Charles Gosling. He apologised for scheduling Green Day on the same day that Breast Cancer Awareness has called for a Denim Day but pointed out it is possible to support both causes. ?What better way can you show support for improved health care and protection of our public parks than by wearing green with your jeans?? he asked. Mr. Gosling quoted from Government?s own statements and strategies on sustainable development to highlight the inconsistencies inherent in the proposed plan. ?We certainly cannot allow the devastation of ten acres of public park land, one third of the Botanical Gardens, to be the first legacy arising from this Government?s ignoring its own Sustainable Development Plan,? he said.

The non-partisan group has also already collected over 2,000 signatures through its paper and website campaigns to make opposition to building on the Botanical Gardens heard.

STG?s interactive site, www.savethegardens.com, has already attracted over 4,900 page loads, STC member Lisa Vickers said. The petition can also be signed on paper at 18 locations around the Island. In addition to access to signing the petition the website allows those opposed to the hospital plan to join a ?virtual march? and use a draft letter to the Premier to express their opposition more fully. But STG is as intent on underlining the inherent value of the gardens as to opposing the proposed building plan. As such, the group has organised a Save the Gardens Celebration for Sunday, November 19 and took the initiative to remind the public that the loss of the gardens is likely to also spell the loss of the popular Annual Exhibition (formerly known as the Ag Show). STG member and gardens tour guide Nell Johnston said she has taken thousands of visitors around the park. ?They really enjoy the gardens a lot and would not want it to be destroyed,? she said. ?If there are no gardens, there will be no more Exhibition,? she warned. ?I can clue you in on that and if we lose the Exhibition we are losing another one of our cultures.?

The Environment Ministry has said, however, that it is looking at securing the future of the popular annual event which has been held since 1922.

Meanwhile, the Save the Gardens celebration, STG member Starla Williams said, is intended to highlight the wonderful ways in which the Botanical Gardens can be used.

?Throughout the history of the Botanical Gardens, hundreds of Bermudian families have picnicked on a Sunday afternoon, held birthday parties and walked along the paths on Easter Sunday,? she said. ?On Sunday, November 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., there will be a family celebration in the gardens, with a variety of activities to include an early morning walk with the walking club, a full schedule of entertainment, botanical tours and learning experiences, children?s activities, a dog show, pony rides, a scavenger hunt and more.?