Somersfield P5 Innovations Class tour Tucker’s Point, hear presentation from National Trust to learn about the controversial SDO

by Kyaida Lanthier

Photo by Mark Brown.
Somersfield Academy students Liam Clease, Eleanor Cox (back turned), Bradley Stewart, Justice Hammer, Jayce Steede, Tyler DeCouto, Matthew Elliott, Cameron Pollett are shown at Tucker's Point Wastewater Treatment Plant being shown clear water by engineer Joseph Dosserie.

November 29, 2012 — On November 8th, 2012 the P5 students of Somersfield Academy’s Innovations Programme travelled to Tucker’s Point Resort.

We learned about the recent Special Development Order. We were shuttled from site to site on the resort by golf cart, one of them being solar powered.

Mr Lanthier, Mr Sleeter, Mr Outerbridge, and Mr Dossier led our tours of a cave, the wastewater treatment plant, and the biodiesel production facility.

We learned about the positives of the SDO while at Tucker’s Point.

The Bermuda National Trust, who presented to us upon our return to school, highlighted their concerns and some of the bad things about the SDO.

Most concerning from the Bermuda National Trust is protecting the population of Yellowwood trees.

I think the Tucker’s Point SDO is a good thing for Bermuda because it will likely bring more tourists. I don’t believe that there is a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ with regards to the SDO; everything has positives and negatives.

Mr Brown, our Innovations teacher, noted that the forty P5 students at Somersfield were split 50/50 on the issue, and that more than half had changed their mind about the SDO at least once during the study.For this reason Mr Brown believes that our study of the SDO was successful: “The Tucker’s Point SDO study was designed to show our students that few issues are truly as simple as being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

“This study concluded our unit focusing on Bermuda’s ecosystems and the impact that government can have upon them.”

Originally published in The Royal Gazette