Campaigners are urging the public to donate money to save two green open spaces from development and potentially turn them into wildlife hot spots.

Buy Back Bermuda (BBB) — a collaboration between Bermuda National Trust and the Audubon Society — has identified two parcels of land on opposite sides of the Island which it needs to raise $2.5 million to buy.

Eve's Pond in Hamilton Parish is a 3.36-acre plot along Shelly Bay stretch; Evans Bay Pond is a 7.5-acre site adjacent to the Railway Trail in Southampton.

Both have caught the eye of developers but their owners have agreed to sell to BBB so they can be saved in perpetuity for Bermudians to enjoy if the required cash is raised.

Footage of both sites can be seen in a video report at www.royalgazette.com.

Former Premier David Saul is spearheading the fundraising bid and is hoping the public will respond as enthusiastically as it did when the first Buy Back Bermuda scheme was launched three years ago.

The BBB committee set out then to raise $1.4 million to buy a three-acre plot in Somerset but eventually collected more than $2 million, including a $300,000 donation from Government. The Somerset Long Bay East Nature Reserve opened earlier this year.

Dr. Saul told The Royal Gazette he was now back with his "begging bowl" to convince Islanders of the need to reclaim space for future generations.

"I believe that it will be a success," said the former United Bermuda Party leader. "People think it's a good thing.

"Out of a thousand begging letters sent last time, a third gave money. This time we are writing to everyone who has already given money and to those who didn't and to new people too.

"I do believe, just on the strength of last time, that in four months, i.e. before February, we'll have the money."

Buy Back Bermuda seeks out plots of land which are for sale and adjacent to government parks or other areas of open space.

The idea is to put in footpaths which the public can access and, if enough money is raised, restore the areas to their original glory.

Plinths featuring the name of each and every donor will be erected at both sites.

Eve's Pond, which connects Shelly Bay Park via the Railway Trail, once featured an inland tidal pond linked up to Harrington Sound. It was filled in the early 1940s but could be put back in place.

Evans Bay Pond, a woodland area which runs over the ridgeline of Skroggins Hill to the shoreline of Little Sound, already features live cedars and rare native flora.

BBB intends to get rid of invasive species and plant native and endemic flora which could withstand hurricanes. Jennifer Gray, president of the Audubon Society, said: "They are not necessarily hot spots of biodiversity but they have the potential to be hot spots. "Our prime concern is simply to save the space from development. If we receive overwhelming support and donations we'd have enough money to restore as well."

Paul Leseur, a member of the National Trust's council and chairman of its preservation committee, said: "This is Buy Back round two. Bermudians from all walks of life are concerned about open space. It's a critical and vital issue."

* To make a donation send a cheque made payable to Buy Back Bermuda to PO Box HM 61, Hamilton HM AX. For more information on giving to the scheme call Mansae Le Vaillant on 236-6483 extension 222 or email mansae[AT]bnt.bm.