A decade after working in what she described as "the best job" on the Island, Bermuda National Trust (BNT) executive director Amanda Outerbridge is about to make a major career change.

She moves on this month into a high-powered post with XL Capital, and there is optimism that the lessons the BNT has taught over the years through its struggle to safeguard the Island's habitat and heritage have been well learned.

Mrs. Outerbridge, who was born in Malaysia but grew up in Bermuda, took up the post in 1993 after spending four years as editor of the Mid-Ocean News and more than a decade before that as a reporter with The Royal Gazette.

"I had to learn very quickly and I found out that, even after 16 years as a journalist, there was so much about Bermuda that I didn't know," she said.

Since then, she has, with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers and employees, pulled the organisation out of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt, and placed emphasis on consolidating and rehabilitating buildings that were acquired during the BNT's major expansion years in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Globe Hotel, Stewart Hall and Reeve Court in St. George's.

In addition, the BNT now has an education programme in full swing, and has made other visible marks such as the opening up Paget Marsh and Warwick Pond into accessible attractions for the public.

Other examples include the success last year in stopping the importation of invasive species such as hedgehogs and skunks and also assisting the Town of St. George's in its successful bid to become a World Heritage Site.

"A job like this becomes a way of life," she said."You never stop thinking about it and you are always having ideas for different projects. The role is a combination of manager and cheerleader. There is a tremendous amount going on here and it is important that there is someone directing with an overview so that it all works harmoniously."

Among the main challenges that the BNT has faced, Mrs. Outerbridge cites the recent decision by the Court of Appeal that section 34, which is meant to protect open space from being built on, can be overruled so that an access road can be built on the Chaplin Estate, off Harbour Road in Warwick.

"What is worrying is that section 34 has been considered the highest form of protection for certain lands. Up until now, everyone has considered something covered by section 34 to be protected property in perpetuity but now it doesn't seem to be the case. That is very disturbing and it's like the goal posts have been moved."

Yet, despite such setbacks, she is confident that the importance of conservation is becoming clear to the community at large and notes that a recent administrative change in the Environment Ministry, in which departments for Environmental Protection and Conservation were created, was a significant step forward.

"These days it seems like we are all much more on the same team and it's not a constant battle now. It is more like we are all working together for the long-term benefit of Bermuda.

"I still think there is a residual feeling that the BNT's role is a negative one but I cannot see how waving the flag for the environment could possibly be negative.

On the whole she is optimistic: "We all live in a beautiful island with clean air and water, lush greenery and exquisite surrounding seas.

"We all have the same goal - to keep it that way. It's the next steps that are more complex and occasionally divisive. Obviously Bermuda is very densely populated which makes it a big challenge."

Of course, the BNT's perennial challenge comes in the need to constantly find funding and resources. "There is never enough time or money to do what we need to. It's the nature of this sort of organisation. Having said that we have worked hard to make the most of what we have.

But Mrs. Outerbridge said an integral part of the BNT being able to do its job are the volunteers who donate their time and labour: "I have been astonished by the generosity of people and it humbles me to see it. What people give to the Trust is amazing."

As to why she was leaving, Mrs. Outerbridge asked: "Why... when I have the best job in Bermuda? I'm so grateful that I've had the chance to work at the Trust.

"I am leaving because it's been ten years and it's time for me to move on and I have a wonderful opportunity at XL Capital.

"But I'll always have the Trust in my heart."