A parish council has become the first on the Island to donate money to an initiative aimed at saving open spaces for future generations.

Members of Southampton Parish Council yesterday handed over $10,000 to the Buy Back Bermuda (BBB) campaign, which launched a $2.5 million fundraising drive last November to buy two plots of land.

Council chairman Harrison Simons said the money came from the council's assets and members felt it would be well spent on the joint Bermuda National Trust and Audubon Society scheme.

The latest BBB campaign — spearheaded by former Premier David Saul — aims to buy and preserve 11 acres of open space comprising land near Evans Bay Pond, Skroggins Hill, Southampton and Eve's Pond in Hamilton Parish.

Mr. Simons said: "We recognised the fact that Dr. Saul has made an effort to save as much greenery as possible and we felt that his effort was a good effort.

"Southampton Parish Council members decided that we would like to support his effort and, in doing so, this would ensure that the parcel of land in Southampton will always be of a green nature. No one will be able to build on it.

"We thought $10,000 would be a nice piece of money to pay towards that on behalf of the Southampton parishioners."

Dr. Saul said the amount was "unbelievable", particularly since he had not approached the council for cash. "They did it all of their own volition. They took me completely by surprise both in offering and by the magnitude of it."

He said he hoped the other parish councils would follow suit and help BBB raise the final $500,000 needed to reach the $2.5 million target.

Dr. Saul added that the patch of land in Southampton was completely untouched and home to the rare maidenberry shrub or crossopetalum rhacoma. "Nobody has ever built anything on it," he said.

"It's the same as when the first settlers arrived here."

The gift from Southampton Parish Council follows a donation of $10,500 from St. George's Preparatory School last week.

Donations can be made to the Buy Back Bermuda Campaign, P.O. Box HM 61, Hamilton, HM AX.