It will take years to restore one of Bermuda's most beautiful parks to its original state following Hurricane Fabian. Lifestyle's Lawrence Trott surveyed the damage

Considerable tree and structural damage was done to the 32-acre Botanical Gardens by Fabian two weeks ago and while some estimates can be placed on the demolished grandstand of the main show ring and roof damage to other buildings, no cost can be placed on the trees that have been lost.

Lisa Outerbridge, Curator of the Gardens which also includes the Arboretum - which also suffered considerable damage - estimates that "easily 60 to 70 per cent" of the specimen trees at the Botanical Gardens were either damaged of uprooted.

That includes a 100-year-old Bermuda cedar tree near Camden.

Mrs. Outerbridge predicts it will take two or three years before the gardens "start to look healthy again".

"It's going to be a long, long process, yes," acknowledged Mrs. Outerbridge who promised the Botanical Gardens will be beautiful again.

"Our priority was to get the trees upright where we could," said Mrs. Outerbridge of the initial work. "The 32 trees that we stood up will need to be managed as well.

"It will take about a year-and-a-half to two years before they can actually support themselves on their own roots. They range from medium height to the 100-foot trees."

She added: "Every single one of our fruit trees were knocked over and we stood them back up. We had to clear the roads around the Botanical Gardens where they (trees) were on the main roads, and that was done by the staff of the Parks Department.

"Then a team went out that involved a private landscaper that dug out the holes around the trees and then we had to get soil. It wasn't a simple fact of getting them back up, we had to do some major pruning of the trees and tried to save the trees."

Some trees, she admitted, could not be saved.

The ones that were saved are part of the restoration programme and will be vulnerable to high winds for some time.

"There were some where the roots were too severed or the actual trunk had snapped," explained Mrs. Outerbridge as she pointed to a Mahogany tree that was snapped in half and couldn't be saved.

During the tour of the grounds along with acting Director of Parks, Drew Pettit, a clearer picture of the severity of the destruction caused by Fabian emerged.

"The cedars that we lost were over 100 years old, they were the original ones here," said Mrs. Outerbridge as we neared the Camden building and came across a huge cedar tree split in two. It was, she said, the oldest tree that went down in the gardens.

"Those 100 year old cedars have withstood many storms and finally just said `enough is enough, I'm going'. The Botanical Gardens started in 1898 and these trees were here as part of the Camden Estate. These three Bermuda cedars survived the cedar blight of 1945. The rest of the cedars that stood are younger cedars."

Banyan trees near the Parks office, popular with visitors to the gardens, also took a hit from the high winds, suffering the loss of limbs, but fortunately will survive.

"They spread a hundred feet wide and have now had several limbs cut off," said Mrs. Outerbridge. "It had the longest spread of any tree in Bermuda and was planted to commemorate the beginning of the Botanical Gardens in 1898."

"It is the one all the kids love," Mr. Pettit put in. The grounds have been closed to tours while restoration work gets underway. A crane has been brought in to do a lot of the work.

"It is still dangerous to walk around in here," said Mrs. Outerbridge. "We will spend our time and energy trying to save the historic trees.

"The sword trees were planted in 1911 for the coronation of King George V. The Botanical Gardens staff are prioritising in the Botanical Gardens and then they will move to the Arboretum. Another 30 trees there have been identified that can be stood back up."

Both Mrs. Outerbridge and Mr. Pettit, who is the Parks Planner, have praise for the Parks staff who have worked tirelessly trying to repair the damage.

"The staff have been tremendous, they have worked since the Saturday and have worked around the clock every day and all through the weekend," said Mrs. Outerbridge. "While there is still a lot left to do they have made a dent in it."

Said Mr. Pettit: "We have a long term plan for the gardens and that is still well on its way."

The grandstand of the main show ring has been demolished with its roof ending up on the Agape House property.

On the bankside of the main ring a black ebony tree was uprooted, the same area where a number of casuarinas were blown down by Hurricane Emily in 1987. "After Emily it was a push trying to get it (grounds) cleaned up and safe for the Ag Show, and there wasn't nearly as much damage to the buildings as we've had with Fabian," Mrs. Outerbridge noted as she compared the two hurricanes.

"We're going to make every effort to get it cleaned up and ready for the Ag Show. It will be a push, it's the tree work really.

"It's an event that's designed to bring thousands of people who spread out through the gardens and under the trees and we have to make sure people are safe while they are here."

The grandstand, which accommodates the dignitaries and judges during the popular show in April, will have to be rebuilt as only some walls are standing.

The JJ Outerbridge Building suffered roof damage while the extended part of the building which recently housed a cactus exhibit suffered less damage.

"The positive side to all of this is rather than repair something we can now repair and improve," said Mr. Pettit.

Mrs. Outerbridge admits it was "devastating" to see the damage done by Fabian. But the loss of one huge Indian Laurel tree, about 80 years old, did not bring as much heartache.

"The tree itself is not a good tree to have in Bermuda, it's one of our pest species," Mrs. Outerbridge explained.

"We had actually made the recommendation over the years to get rid of these trees in Bermuda because it has become such a pest. "As beautiful a specimen it was, it was a problematic tree - and we're not going to make any efforts to save it."

The tree stood in one of the most visited areas of the gardens, where locals had picnics, children played and tourists took photos next to the popular Banyan tree. "This area used to be completely shaded," Mr. Pettit said with much sadness.

The Island's parks and beaches all come under the Parks Department and the staff there will be very busy repairing damage.