The idea of fitting homes with rooftop solar panels and other energy-saving devices met with support at the latest capacity turn-out public meeting to discuss sustainable development and how to protect and enhance Bermuda's natural resources and environment.

Grand, sweeping ideas and minute observations peppered the discussion as questions and views from members of the public were given a front seat role at the two-hour meeting in the E.F. Gordon Memorial Hall of the BIU building last night.

An audience member identified herself as a tree surgeon and called for a "heads up" at the Works and Engineering department to educate roadside crews about the damage that can be caused by the blanket cutting back of bushes and plants that grow within two metres of roadsides.

Such a "scorched earth" policy invites invasive plant species to take root in the cleared ground often at the expense of native plants she said, adding that delicate maidenhair ferns sprouting along rock cuts near roads and along the Railway Trail are routinely stripped away by maintenance teams.

If the fate of maidenhair ferns represented a smaller part of the sustainable development jigsaw, much larger pieces of the puzzle came with discussion about pollution caused by water run-off from roads going into the harbour and ocean; the use of pesticides and chemicals on golf courses and gardens; and cess pit seepage into the environment from bigger and bigger condominium developments.

Some in the audience called for tougher enforcement of environmental protection laws and the imposition of fines for offenders.

Environmentalist Stuart Hayward moderated the third public meeting to discuss the draft Sustainable Development Strategy and Implementation Plan and was successful in bringing forward views and questions from the packed audience.

He stressed that questions and opinions aired would be fed back into the consultation process for the final shaping of the plan.

Four panellists were also called upon to give views on protecting and enhancing Bermuda's environment and natural resources.

Former Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson lamented the loss of workable solutions that had benefited Bermuda in the past but had since fallen by the wayside. He said a prime example of this "lost technology" was seen in the run off of water from roads during wet weather. Where once there were gutters installed in roads to take excess water away and spread it onto the surrounding land, now the water was simply allowed to collect in floods, run off directly into the sea or roll down hills in torrents as it does at The Crawl in Hamilton Parish.

Mr. Hodgson also said it would be a good idea for Bermuda to decide now on what size population was most desirable for the Island.

Fellow panellist fisherman Danny Farias felt Government's white paper on fish stocks was outdated and believed there is now sufficient stocks of black groupers and rockfish around the Island to allow them to be fished, although this view was countered by an audience member.

At the same time Mr. Farias spoke in favour of regulation to prevent certain types of commercial fishing, such as boats dragging live baits.

Businessman and architect Colin Campbell said open public spaces and parks had been shown to have value in helping decrease crime and he supported the idea of enhancing and reinvesting in open spaces. He said: "There is a relationship between decent parks and decent people."

He added: "I do not see enough protection of the marine and terrestrial environment. These areas are weak."

The fourth panellist, Bermuda International Film Festival director Aideen Ratteray Pryse, who worked 13 years in the planning department, expressed a desire that the Development Applications Board be allowed some discretionary leeway when considering plans that do not in the Development Plan.

And she went on: "We need a different mindset in Bermuda. Small is good. You do not need to have a big house or to make money off the backs of guest workers."

Sustainable Development Unit director Erica Smith, answering some of the questions raised by the audience, said building codes were being revised as far as making homes more energy efficient. She said the Department of Planning was conducting a survey to see how much open space is left on the Island and was also looking into offering compensation as an incentive for householders who do not develop areas of open space they own.

Further feedback from the audience included a request that Government require homes to have solar panels on their roofs, that the planning process should apply to all Government projects whether they are temporary or permanent, that Marsh Folly be developed into an attractive area for residents to enjoy and there be a greater monitoring of pollutants going into the ocean as a result of run-off from roads and other developments.

And on the subject of recycling audience member and environmentalist Dr. David Wingate suggested introducing a "bottle rate bill" that rewarded people who recycled their bottles or even collected them up and returned them for recycling.

He added: "That becomes the foundation for proper re-cycling of everything and that way we start the process."

Premier Alex Scott addressed the audience and said that some ideas discussed at the previous two meetings were already being adopted into Government planning. Edited highlights of last night's meeting will be shown on VSB TV next Monday and Friday at 7.30 p.m. and on ZBM next Tuesday at 9 p.m.

The fourth public meeting of the series of five takes place at St. Paul AME Centennial Hall on September 5 when the theme will be "Sustaining our Communities."