Ten years after the murder of Canadian teen Rebecca Middleton a nature reserve in Paget has been named in her honour.

The Bermuda National Trust (BNT) announced yesterday that a half-acre of wooded hillside near Ord Road donated by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cook will be known as the Rebecca Middleton Nature Reserve.

Mrs. Cook?s maiden name is Middleton, and although no relation to Rebecca, she was particularly upset by the case and wished the land to be a permanent memorial, BNT said in a press release. ?It is a very wonderful gesture on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Cook to donate the land as a nature reserve to honour Becky,? Rebecca Middleton?s mother Cindy Bennett told the Trust.

Rebecca?s father David also welcomed news of the park. ?Mrs. Cook?s request to have the land commemorated in Becky?s name is a very pleasant surprise for us,? Mr. Middleton said. ?I had contact with the Cook family a number of years ago and discussed the tragedy of Becky?s death. Typical of many Bermudians they were very upset about the effect of the loss of Becky on members of the Middleton family.? BNT president Hugh Davidson said the gift would continue a vision of an ?Emerald Necklace? of green spaces throughout the Island.

?The protection of this land will also help to preserve the wooded rural environment of this stretch of the Railway Trail,? Mr. Davidson said. ?We are happy to respect her wish for the site to be named as a perpetual memorial to Rebecca Middleton. Furthermore, it is quite fitting that the site should benefit from the work of the young people of Bermuda through Warwick Academy?s involvement in PartnerRe?s ?Dollars for Hours? project.