Amongst all the problems caused by Hurricane Fabian, there are opportunities that can be grasped.

Yesterday's front page story on how Nonsuch Island fared compared to the rest of the Island presents one that Government and the private sector should jump on.

David Wingate, the former Government Conservation Officer, and Jeremy Madeiros, who now holds the post, have spent years returning Nonsuch to its pre-settlement state.

That required removing trees and plants that are not endemic or were not native to Bermuda before 1609 and replacing them with cedar and yellow wood trees and other Bermuda plants.

In doing so, they have created a living laboratory of Bermudian flora and fauna which is vitally important for the preservation of the Island's ecology.

But Hurricane Fabian also proved something that many people have forgotten. Cedars and other Bermudian native and endemic species have evolved over thousands of years to match Bermuda's geography and climate.

Thus in Hurricane Fabian, the trees and plants stood up far better to the storm than the imported trees and plants that now predominate through much of the Island.

Indeed, if you look around the Island now, you will see lone cedar trees standing - with their leaves intact - surrounded by felled trees or trees that have been stripped of their branches and have had their leaves burned off.

Bermuda now looks like it has been through a northern winter. Imagine how green it would be if the Island was covered by native Bermuda trees.

On a practical level, much of the structural damage caused by hurricanes is a result not of the wind itself but of tidal surges (and there's not much you can do about them if you choose to live on the water) and debris caused by the wind.

Roofs are often damaged after being hit by branches (or felled trees). And once trees fall, the windbreaks are much reduced, not just for a hurricane but for later storms.

In the coming weeks and months, there will be a move to replant and replace trees and plants lost or damaged by Fabian. Replacing them with imports, or letting the land lie fallow, meaning it will get taken over by pernicious Mexican Pepper and other nuisance trees would be a disaster for the Island.

Instead, as has been suggested elsewhere, Government and the private sector should join forces in a coalition similar to the Emergency Assistance Organisation to reforest the Island with cedar trees and other endemics.

Remarkable progress has been made in growing disease-resistant cedar strains since the blight of the 1940s. Whether there are enough seedlings available now is a major question, however.

It is important that a well-planned reforestation programme is put in place. People will be eager to start replanting quickly. Some patience while the plan is developed and enough seedlings are grown will be important.

But in the long term, Fabian could prove to be a blessing to Bermuda if the Island gets at least some of the cedars lost in the blight in the 1940s back.