BOTANICAL NEWS & RESOURCES
Plant conservation lecture to focus on Botanical Gardens
A lecture exploring plant conservation in Bermuda and the role of the Botanical Gardens is to be hosted by the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo
The lecture, to be held in partnership between the Bermuda Zoological Society and the Bermuda Botanical Society, will give the public a chance to learn about the plant life that maintains the island’s urban and natural spheres.
Attendees can also learn how to join the call to action and help with sustainability.
Children’s Corner | DRIFTWOOD CRAFT and DRIFTWOOD STORY
Driftwood facts: Did you know?.......
“Driftwood is simply wood that has been carried by water and washed up on a shore. This can happen in a sea, river, or lake. Winds, tides, and waves often move the wood. Sometimes, people also place wooden objects into the water, which can become driftwood. Even though a lot of driftwood can sometimes be a problem in certain areas, it's very important for nature. As driftwood floats in the ocean, it gives shelter and food to birds, fish, and other water creatures. Minute animals like gribbles (a crustacean) and shipworms (a mollusk…tiny termites of the sea), along with bacteria, help to break down the wood.
Focus on invasives
The plant family Petiveriaceae contains around 20 known species of plants. No members of this family are native to Bermuda, but two species have been introduced – the Hoop Vine (Trichostigma octandrum) and the Rougeberry (Rivina humilis). Unfortunately both species are invasive here. While Rougeberry is incredibly common, I was only vaguely aware of Hoop Vine before I started the vegetation surveys for my PhD in 2023. Lisa Greene had shown it to me on the roadside of South Shore Road, just east of Southampton Rangers in May 2014. I’d since noticed it a few other times, such as on the railway trail in Warwick during the End-to-End Walk in 2018.
Bermuda Botanical Society Student Awards for Botanical Sciences
The Bermuda Botanical Society started in 1985 with the Mission Statement: “To encourage and support the study and promotion of the botanical sciences within Bermuda”. It remains our guiding principle to this day.
The Bermuda Botanical Society Student Awards for Botanical Sciences follow through with that mission. The awards honour middle and secondary students who work diligently on personally chosen, botany-related projects during their school year.
Each school is entitled to one award for a solo or group project. The student is recognized with a certificate, a $100 cash award (students in group projects receive an equal share of the cash), and a free membership in the Botanical Society.
Bermuda Botanical Society Memorandum of Understanding
I am pleased to be joined by Mrs. Jennifer Flood, President of the Bermuda Botanical Society and Mr. Danny Simmons, Government’s Landscape Architect to announce that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance the funding and development of the Bermuda Botanical Gardens.
The MOU establishes the Bermuda Botanical Society as the Bermuda Botanical Gardens Registered Charity holding grants and privately donated funds to be disbursed on the direction of the Department / Ministry and solely for agreed Bermuda Botanical Gardens improvement projects, assets or initiatives described in the MOU scope of works.