ELFRIDA Chappell wanted to ensure that a beautiful swathe of South Shore land she owned would remain a natural haven forever undeveloped - so she gave it away.

The Audubon Society was the beneficiary of Mrs. Chappell's donation of 8.7 acres of valuable land at the Coral Beach Club and the Society has already started work on restoring the site into a primary woodland reserve.

Mrs. Chappell, an 88-year-old Bermudian whose family owns the Coral Beach Club, said the donation was something she had long wanted to do.

"A large part of the land was given to me by my father when I was 21," said Mrs. Chappell this week. "But I was able to buy three extra lots over the years to add what he had given me.

"I thought about how little land there is in Bermuda that is undeveloped and important. So I wanted to preserve this land but I couldn't make up my mind how to do it.

"I wanted to see it become a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, so I decided on the Audubon Society. And I have been impressed by the interest they have taken already.

"They have known for some time that they were to receive the land because there was a lot of legal work to be done which took time. And they have done a lot of work on the land."

MRS. Chappell said she understood why so much of Bermuda's land area was disappearing under concrete, but she felt strongly that some open spaces - particularly on the coast - should be preserved.

"I realise that Bermuda is between a rock and a hard place," she said. "We need housing, so we have to build it. But it's sad to see the open spaces being built on.

"I feel very glad that I was able to save this bit."

Mrs. Chappell has lived in Bermuda virtually all her life and had many happy memories of the site that will now be known as the Alfred Blackburn Smith Nature Reserve in memory of her father.

"It's a beautiful area and it has a little tiny beach," she said. "I'm not a great birder but I do know we've had a lot of longtails nesting there."

Mrs. Chappell's passion for all things natural is exemplified by the way she manicures her garden at her home, Mount Pleasant, in Paget. Mrs. Chappell, who has a large collection of historic artefacts at her home, was the 2002 winner of the Bermuda National Trust Silver Palmetto award for her significant contribution to the preservation of Bermuda's heritage.

Last October, she opened Mount Pleasant to the public for a National Trust fund-raising event, entitled 'The Joy of Collecting Bermudian Things for the Home Environment'.

Mrs. Chappell comes from the family which owns H.A. & E. Smith Ltd., which has stores in various locations on the island including Front Street. She was actively involved in the company from the 1930s onwards. She has a reputation as a community activist and generous benefactor and has donated more than a million dollars to local organisations over the years. In the 1999 New Year Honours List, she was awarded the MBE.

She served a term as president of the Bermuda Junior Service League and 15 years on the executive committee of the Garden Club.

She also served on the Boards of Education, Agriculture and Social Welfare and as a member of the Committee of Trustees of the Bermuda Foundation.

Born in Britain, Mrs. Chappell represented the island at the first World Amateur Team Championships in a three-person golf team in Paris in 1964 and two years later captained an island golf team in Mexico.

She has also served as a flower judge locally for the Agricultural Exhibition and overseas for events at the New England Spring Show and the Monaco Spring Flower Show.