Bermuda as it used to be when they visited Nonsuch Island earlier this month.

Accompanied by their principal Gladstone Thompson, science teacher Eugene Darrell and parent Danny Moore, the group of Primary Six students wowed their Bermuda Biological Station for Research tour guides with their knowledge of the Island's flora and fauna.

The group was shown a variety of endemic and native Bermuda plants, but were unlucky not to see any of the endangered Bermuda Cahow and Skink or the threatened Longtail.

Surprisingly they were able to see and even identify many of the species including spiders, land crabs, and Bermuda Olivewood, Mangrove, and Ink Berry trees.

Tour guide Anne Savage, an intern from Redding, UK, called the group "the best three P-Sixes in the Island'' and said they were keen to share their knowledge with them.

"They're a great group of kids and they are eager studying the wildlife here,'' she said. "There is so much that needs to be done in terms of conservation and it is only Bermudians that can do it.'' "I'm glad the Bio Station and teachers are doing this because sometimes people need an outsider to alert them to what beauty they have,'' Ms Savage added. "I'm surprised more Bermudians have not been out here.

"The whole point of Nonsuch Nature Reserve is that it was to be what Bermuda was like before people arrived. Here, we want plants and animals that are endemic and native to Bermuda.'' Ms Savage continued: "I tell them the point about endemic plants and animals is that once they are gone, they are gone from the whole world. They seemed shocked by that.'' Giles Watson, another intern from Glostcester, said he found the group inquisitive, and added: "(Government conservationist) David Wingate will have to have someone to take over from him. Maybe.. .'' Mr. Thompson said of his students: "I find that with this group, they are very bright. But you have to keep them very busy.'' "This is an accelerated programme and their parents are very supportive,'' he added.

The group enjoyed a guided tour of the island, filled with anecdotal history including the fact it was once used as a yellow fever asylum and reform school.

Ms Savage said there were three reasons Nonsuch makes an ideal place to be the ultimate nature reserve.

Nonsuch's relatively large size compared to the other small islands that make up the Bermudian archipelago makes it big enough to accommodate all of the regional habitats here.

It also is small enough to manage by the small Agriculture and Fisheries and Parks crews and is relatively isolated from the hustle and bustle of the main island.

That isolation was evident as several of the adults on the Bio Station's R/V Henry M. Stommel , remarked as they traveled through St. George's Cut around St. David's Island and onto the South Shore.

Four-foot seas rocked the boat with every drop accompanied by squeals of delight and terror from the students.

Most everyone got soaked as they saw the huge St. David's Head cliffs, Cooper's Island, and fresh pockets of erosion damage on the heavily exposed southeastern corner of Bermuda.

Once on Nonsuch, the class saw a rocky shore habitat, an albeit temporary Casurina tree windbreak, and artificial freshwater and saltwater ponds.

Ms Savage showed a dead Bermuda Cedar tree struck by the blight of the 1940's, a newly transplanted cedar sapling growing nearby, and a tree felled by Hurricane Emily in 1987.

"Even though it is directly over the path, this will be left here as is just as it would in a wild forest to some day decompose and put nutrients back in the ground,'' Ms Savage told the group. "That's many, many, years in the future though.'' Nine-year-old Kaori Richardson said of the trip: "I really enjoyed the boat ride and I liked the area where we saw the artificial Cahow nest. Yes, I think I will do well on my project. I learned a lot.'' Her classmate, Tine Tucker, ten, agreed the most fun was the boat ride.

But she said: "I learned that Cahows like to lay their eggs in dark places.

"But the Longtails move into their holes. The Cahow parents leave the young ones behind and the Longtail comes in and kills them.'' "I learned that the artificial Cahow burrows have narrow holes so the big Longtails can't get in,'' said Braxton Steede, ten.

Rickeya Williams said: "I learned that we shouldn't dump trash on the beaches because whales and turtles think they are jellyfish and swallow them and die.'' The group must produce a project for Mr. Thompson by November 1, detailing their trip to Nonsuch.

Hands on instruction: Bio Station intern Anne Savage shows a group of Southampton Glebe Primary School Year Six students the entrance to an artificial Cahow nest. Ms Savage explained the importance of protecting native and endemic species.

Root of the problem: Southampton Glebe students listen attentively as they are told about the blight that virtually wiped out Cedar trees in Bermuda earlier this century.

Vast lessons: Primary Six students stop to take notes near a cliff during their tour of Nonsuch Island. They gathered much information for a project they must produce by November 1.