A former NASA tracking station is now Bermuda's newest nature reserve.

For the first time in 50 years, Cooper's Island Nature Reserve opened to the public yesterday with two researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey visiting specifically for the opening.

The plan for Cooper's Island Nature Reserve was first presented to the House of Assembly in December 2005 by then Minister of the Environment Neletha Butterfield.

The nature reserve will cost around $8 million over several years and the annual cost of maintaining the site will be around $500,000 to $650,000.

Located next to Clearwater Beach, Cooper's Island was shut down in 2001 by the US space agency NASA, leaving behind only abandoned buildings.

Under the reserve plan, the former NASA Mission Control building will be developed into a Museum and Visitors Centre which will celebrate the history of the US bases in Bermuda and its role in the US Space Programme.

The reserve will also become a camping site for school and community groups and will offer guided walks, eco-tours and whale and bird watching.

Because of its proximity to the sea, it will also offer scuba, snorkeling and kayaking tours.

Minister of the Environment and Sports Elvin James said: "At 44.5 acres, this is the third largest tract of publicly owned land that will be open for our residents and visitors to get back to nature."

Cooper's Island will also have a hands-on learning centre that will focus on native plants and flowers as well as endangered species and how to live in an environmentally friendly way.

"There is a great opportunity to provide Bermuda's schools with a purpose-built environmental field centre," Mr. James told Parliament last week.

"The site and the field will be used to teach primary, middle and senior level science and social studies programmes."

These new initiatives are expected to provide a range of job opportunities that include land managers, habitat specialists, ecologists and teachers, the Minister added.