A young Bermudian is organising a rally intended to demonstrate public support for the protection of Southlands Park in the face of proposed developments on the site.

Nekorrah Raynor said she hoped that the rally, scheduled to take place between 8am and 2pm on September 6, would encourage further dialogue about plans for the estate.

“At the end of the day, while I would love if they didn’t do anything with Southlands, there needs to be some kind of compromise,” she said.

“There needs to be some way to maintain the natural green space but do that in a way that keeps in mind the current state of affairs of Bermuda politically, economically and socially.”

The 25-year-old said that while she now lives in Wales, she returns to the island every summer and has always considered Southlands a special place.

“It’s a large part of my identity,” Ms Raynor said. “Bermuda’s identity too, of course, but my identity as well.

“I always loved how natural it is, how raw and untamed it is, but this year when I went I saw what they had started doing and all of the red planning notices.

“I also noticed that they took out a lot of the invasive plant species but there had been no replanting of native or endemic species where they took the invasives out.

“I was crying as I drove back home because it was such an important place for me.”

Ms Raynor said she later met Jaché Adams, the Minister of Public Works and Environment, and had a good discussion about the steps that the Government was taking including online consultation, which concluded last week.

In addition to a continuing online petition — which had collected more than 4,400 signatures as of yesterday afternoon — she said she began to collect signatures in person at Southlands.

Ms Raynor said that while the majority of people she had spoken to had expressed their support for the campaign, that support was not universal.

“Some people have expressed their disdain for what I’m doing, but I appreciate the conversation,” she said. “I welcome the dialogue.”

She said she hoped the rally would serve as a demonstration of the public’s support in protecting the woodlands and the coastal areas from development, noting that public outcry had saved the site from a hotel development in 2007.

“If it worked last time, it could work again,” Ms Raynor added.

Planning applications submitted for the park include a café and a zip-line attraction, along with the modification of existing structures at the site to create a residential apartment and an office for the Mirrors Programme.