A message has gone out to everyone who wants to save the Botanical Gardens from being used as a site for a new hospital to wear an item of green clothing this Friday.

It is part of a campaign to show Government and the Bermuda Hospitals Board the level of opposition to the proposal to use ten acres of the Botanical Gardens as the site for a replacement to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

People could wear a green shirt or trousers, a green skirt, socks, scarf, hat or belt ? anything green that helps send out a clear message and helps indicate the level of support for the Gardens.

And wearing green this Friday will also indicate support for the Government?s sustainable development initiative.

An advertisement for ?Green Day? appears in today?s and people are urged to ?wear green if you believe in Government?s sustainable development initiative?.

It continues: ?Wear green if you support the building of a new hospital that does not impact open space. Wear green if you want to save the Botanical Gardens and believe that building a new hospital in our Gardens, or other open space, is not in the best interest of Bermuda.?

Businessman Charles Gosling is helping fund the initiative as well as a soon to be announced special event at the Gardens on November 19, details of which are expected to be revealed this Thursday.

Mr. Gosling said: ?This is not just a public park, it is the Botanical Gardens of Bermuda ? a resource that is available to every Bermudian citizen and resident.

?The Premier has initiated the whole concept of sustainable development and part of that is to encourage dialogue in the community and we are thankful for that. Sometimes it takes a while for the dialogue to develop.?

Mr. Gosling added that he realised this Friday has also been designated as ?Denim Day? for people to wear denim in support of breast cancer research, but said he believed people would be still be able to find a way of wearing something green even if they were also wearing a denim item.

Save the Gardens supporters are also being urged to join a ?virtual march? on the website www.savethegardens.com.

Hundreds of people, including schoolchildren and students, have submitted photographs of themselves holding up Save the Gardens signs as part the ?virtual march? to protest the hospital plan.

A petition that can be signed online and also offline has attracted around 2,700 signatures since it was launched just over a week ago.

Lisa Vickers, of Save The Gardens website, who is helping to coordinate Green Day, said: ?It is to raise awareness about the campaign and show how much support there is for the Botanical Gardens.

?We are saying wear green to show support for the sustainable development initiative, which includes no development on open space.?