Somersfield Primary 5 Innovations Class Explores Impact of Town Cut Modifications

It's your future: Abbie Caldas of the Bermuda National Trust shares with Somersfield Innovations students the environmental impact of widening St. George's Town Cut.

December 15, 2011 — On November 16, the Primary 5 Innovations Class, led by Mr Mark Brown, went on a field trip to the Town of St George, St George’s Harbour, and Town Cut to research what might happen if the Town Cut was modified, including blowing up the reefs. “To prepare for the trip,” Mr Brown explained, “the children looked at the government study on Town Cut. We went through the study piece by piece. Of particular interest was the decimation of St George business numbers from over 20 to under ten, and the reduction in cruise ship visitors from 100,000 to 1,000 over the course of three years. The students were particularly upset about the removal of Higgs and Hen islands in the proposal, as well as the potential destruction of coral reefs.”

Then the students were assigned stakeholder groups to interview, including St George’s businesses and citizens, the cruise ship companies, Bermuda Government, and various environmentalists and environmental groups such as the Bermuda National Trust. “The students had to see the issue through the lens of the stakeholder versus their personal opinions,” explained Mr Brown. “This requirement provided a balanced view and challenged the students.”

The field trip included a close examination of the Cut from the boat kindly provided by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. The students saw the islands which would be removed if the Cut was widened. The students spoke to business people, Mr JP Skinner (BIOS Education officer), St George’s Mayor Kenneth Bascome, and representatives of the Bermuda National Trust. The students inquired of the business people what they felt about Town Cut and if changes would bring more income. BNT representatives were asked what alternatives there might be to widening the Cut. Everyone was asked what they thought the Town Cut proposals were and what they would mean to them.

Mr Skinner explained what islands would be removed and how this would affect the fish and the rare coral that would be damaged. Dredging would make the water in the harbour murky. He compared the development to Castle Harbour, where coral still does not grow due to the development of the airport during the Second World War. The town of St George may also be more vulnerable to increased wave action.

After reviewing the interviews, the class was able to draw a number of conclusions. The majority of people interviewed seemed to say ‘no’ to widening Town Cut. Just because small cruise ships can fit into the Town Cut doesn’t mean they want to come to Bermuda. Business people recognised that the cruise ships were competing with them; the visitors do everything on board and only get off to buy a $5 souvenir.

Alternatives suggested included offering financial incentives to cruise ship companies to build/bring their smaller ships in. Another argument was to make sure the ferry and bus services were consistent to bring tourists from the mega ships in Dockyard. Finally, efforts should be made to make St George’s more attractive to yachts. There were a few who believed it would be worthwhile widening the Cut so ships will come more often.

Reflecting on the experience, Innovations student Lily Majors noted: “I loved the trip, and I was a bit surprised at the answers we got. I was also surprised how much damage there would be if they do blow up the reefs.” “This was interesting,” noted student Jahzara Ming, “because I did not know how much problems it would cause Bermuda if Town Cut is widened. It was fun to learn about all the different plants and animals.”

“The Innovations Programme at Somersfield integrates science, culture, and technological studies with an inquiry-based approach,” explained Mr Brown. “This was the perfect opportunity for the children to consider the impact of Government (a cultural study for P5) on ecosystems (a science topic for P5) and to see the inter-relationship between technology, science, and culture. It was also designed to provide a balanced view of the issue and show the students that in our democratic society everybody has a voice in decisions such as the Town Cut question.”

Originally published in The Royal Gazette