urgent need.

With today's sophisticated, hi-tech approach to garbage disposal, it may be hard to realise that just 40 years ago Government's attitude was "dump it on marshland as fill to help kill mosquitoes.'' Thus, almost every parish had its own garbage dump wherever swampy ground was available. Passing the well-groomed Sir Henry Tucker estate in Paget today, for example, gives no indication that this was once a smelly, rat-infested roadside dump.

Apart from the grim aesthetics of those dirty dumps, only a tiny handful of citizens with an interest in natural history realised the terrible ecological damage such a system would do if allowed to continue.

"We could see that wetland birds were losing their habitat and Bermuda had a large population of wetland birds, both resident and migratory, who relied on marshy habitats for their existence,'' Mr. David Wingate, a co-founder of the Society, remembered. "With the disappearance of these wetlands, the entire ecological system was threatened.'' Thus this group of concerned citizens with an interest in natural history, including Mr. Wingate, the late Mr. Louis Mowbray (then-curator of the Aquarium,) Mr. Stanley Gascoigne, the late Miss Patricia Browne (later Benbow), and Mrs. "Mabs'' Cooper, founded the Bermuda Aubudon Society in order to put pressure on Government to change its thinking on garbage disposal.

"We saw that the little mosquito minnow, introduced in 1942, was having a positive effect, so filling in marshland to combat mosquitoes was no longer necessary,'' Mr. Wingate explained. "The only excuse was that it was some place to dump garbage. We argued that marshland was the worst possible place to put garbage.'' Patterned after the National Audubon Society of America and named in honour of the famous American naturalist and wildlife artist, John James Audubon, the newly-formed local society soon had a positive impact.

In time, the island-wide dumps were closed down, but repair to the damage done to marshlandlands and their continued conservation was just beginning. And so was public education.

"Our initial role was public education and to foster that through our connections with the National Audubon Society of America, which had a lecture series,'' Mr. Wingate said. "They sent filmmakers to Bermuda with their films to make a personal presentation.'' Indeed, such lectures -- which took those present on a wide variety of fascinating ecological journeys -- were immensely popular, and succeeded handsomely in raising the public consciousness about the importance of nature conservation.

In fact, for many the Bermuda Audubon Society is synonymous with these lectures, and their absence is often queried.

"The reason they are discontinued was because the National Audubon Society discontinued them,'' Mr. Wingate explained. "Since that time we have tried to take advantage of renowned naturalists and conservationists who may be visiting Bermuda to give talks and lectures.'' Meanwhile, the Bermuda Audubon Society became incorporated in 1960 and began securing land to be held in perpetuity as nature reserves.

"We became frustrated with the realistation that if you didn't own the land you couldn't control what happened to it, so it was decided to purchase the marshlands and thus be sure of being able to preserve them,'' Mr. Wingate said of the move.

In 1963 the Society became the first local conservation organisation to launch public fund-raising drives to purchase land for conservation.

"This was 20-30 years before the National Parks Act, so we were way ahead of Government in that regard,'' Mr. Wingate noted.

Such was the success of the first drive, in fact, that within two years the Society had acquired Seymour's Pond at Barnes Corner, Southampton -- a site which now covers four acres.

"Then we got bold and went for Paget Marsh,'' Mr. Wingate related. "We raised 8000 in two years and purchased eight acres in the northern area.'' From those successes others have sprung. Today, the Society owns in excess of 40 acres stretching from Somerset Long Bay at one end of the Island to Stokes Point in St. George's at the other.

"These areas are special areas, not just any land,'' Mr. Wingate explained.

"They include marshland and unique nature reserve areas. We have nature reserves in almost every parish. Our approach to conservation is island-wide.'' Of course, owning land is one thing but maintaining it is another -- and in the case of Audubon Society properties, a great deal of careful attention had to be paid to the restoration, preservation and enhancement of these sensitive areas.

"In addition to acquiring unique remnant habitats, where we missed the boat with some of the marshlands we decided to buy the land very cheaply anyway and then restore it back to marshlands by taking out the garbage and restoring the on-site pond,'' Mr. Wingate explained.

Somerset Long Bay is a case in point. Following prolonged hard work there, the ponds were restored and little islands left intact with mangrove trees on them. All of which benefitted resident and migratory birds.

"Without the little reservations we have acquired over the years a lot of the wild bird life would not be here,'' Mr. Wingate said of the painstaking restoration projects. "None of the wetland birds could not be here without marshlands.'' But it is not only as conservationists that the Audubon Society functions.

Another of its roles is to educate the public about the importance of everyone doing their bit to restore, preserve and respect the natural environment.

"In the summer we conduct natural history courses for advanced level students from all Bermuda secondary schools,'' Mr. Wingate explained. "During eight-day camps, (the students) stay at Nonsuch Island -- which is about the most exotic place to be -- and go to all sorts of interesting areas including North Rock, Hungry Bay, Paget Marsh, Spittal Pond and the caves at Walsingtham.

"Basically, the courses are run by teachers but we also try to incorporate interesting specialists from the Biological Station and Agriculture & Fisheries as well,'' Mr. Wingate said. "The courses are very educational and intensive -- we have lectures up to 10 p.m. each night -- and there are also lab sessions.'' These courses have already paid long-term benefits for the community because some of the past students have gone on to make careers in conservation and education-related fields.

(Incidentally, students for this year's course have already been selected).

The Society has also been closely involved with Mr. Wingate's efforts to safeguard the future of the endangered cahow by helping visiting enthusiasts and bird watchers to watch the rare bird.

"One of the things they like to see more than anything else is the cahow,'' Society president Mr. Andrew Dobson noted.

While this service is free, grateful watchers can say thank-you through donations to a fund which is used to build artificial cahow burrows and carry out projects at Nonsuch Island.

Future plans for the Society include continuing the educational role in schools, particularly since they now have a Bermuda syllabus which includes conservation and natural history; and also to create a fresh water pond on an island at Bartram's Point so all birds, and not just a few, can be accommodated.

Under Mr. Dobson's presidency, bird watching has gathered momentum, thanks to Peterson Field Guides and his own, long-standing interest in the subject.

"We have become more natural history oriented,'' Mr. Dobson said. "The field of bird watching has become one of the largest hobbies in the world, and last year I ran several courses. Today, we have ten proficient and obsessive bird watchers, and I expect the numbers to grow. We have 200 species of migratory birds which come to Bermuda each year, of which 120 species are `regulars' ''.

A spin-off of this growing interest, Mr. Dobson said, was that the public became more aware of the beauty and diversity of nature.

"Since birds are excellent indicators of environmental degradation or pollution problems, bird watchers are playing a very important role in environmental monitoring worldwide, including Bermuda.'' Meanwhile, at a gala fortieth anniversary banquet last weekend the Premier presented Mr. David Wingate with a special award on the Society's behalf for his outstanding contribution to conservation in Bermuda. And its treasurer, Mr. Teddy Cassidy was honoured with a life membership in appreciation of 25 years' voluntary service.

Membership in the Audubon Society is open to anyone with an interest in protecting Bermuda's flora, fauna and the natural environment. The cost per year is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Meetings are held monthly andusually include a speaker or field trip. For further information telephone 293-6153 or 238-3239.

NATURE WATCH -- Bermuda Audubon Society president Mr. Andrew Dobson (right) and vice-president Mr. Jeremy Madeiros prepare to check the Society's nature reserve at Paget marsh -- eight of the 40 acres it owns Island-wide.