Over 500 signatures have been collected for a second petition to save the Southlands property from developers.

But this time the signatures and petition are not from conservationists or campaigners, they’re from kids. Many were not even over the age of 18.

The petition was created by and for children.

Kayla Tavares is only eight years old but said she felt the need to enter the debate over Southlands after walking around the property and seeing what they wanted to do on the news.

“I went to Southlands and I loved it, but then I heard on TV what they wanted to do there. I wanted to do something because kids should be able to make a difference too,” she said.

On the other hand, her mother Karen Tavares said she was reluctant to let her daughter get involved in the debate, but when she realised this was something she really wanted to do, she had to be supportive.

She said: “She reminded me of how a petition saved the Botanical Gardens and I thought she had a good point and I decided I need to support her.”

Kayla, who attends Saltus, initially passed the petition around the school. However, after some parents complained, the school asked her to stop.

That meant, between ballet practice and guitar lessons, Kayla would go to the Southside Bowling Alley, baseball games and even a cricket practice to talk to children about Southlands and have them sign the petition.

It is a second bid this year to stop the SDO that was requested to build a controversial 300-suite Jumeirah Southlands luxury resort on 37-acres of open space in Warwick. Environmentalists and residents have campaigned against the decision saying it will destroy the shore line and natural habitats.

But this time the voices are those of the group that stands to inherit the Island and this is why, Kayla said, she composed the petition that is addressed to Stuart Hayward, a campaigner against the hotel development.

The petition reads: “Dear Mr. Hayward, I have had school age kids sign a petition to protect Southlands. My school would not allow me to bring it in to school, so I worked hard to obtain these signatures wherever I could. When I spoke to kids they were all concerned about our green spaces and wanted to help protect Bermuda. Just because we can’t vote doesn’t mean that our voices shouldn’t be heard as well. I wish that the Government would stop playing around with our futures, after all WE are Bermuda’s future! After all our land is destroyed we can never get it back and it will be way too late for our voices to make a difference. So, please Mr. Hayward will you help us kids save Bermuda. We are counting on you. Thank you, Kayla Tavares.”

Now that she has gone through the process of collecting 500 signatures, Kayla plans to send it to Mr. Hayward as soon as possible. She added: “We made up the petition in May and I did it because I wanted to let the Government now that children care about saving their future.”