It is an exciting and challenging time for the Trust as we approach the end of the FCO Start- Up Grant in early October. We have applied for recurrent expenses to be financed by Government, but so far have not heard if we are successful, and the hope of financing ourselves independently from Commemorative Coin issues, suggested by Friends of St. Helena, proved to be unworkable. We need the support of all of our members and contacts, so please remember to renew your subscription which is due on 1 April each year, or join for the first time – membership form enclosed.

Olive Williams has gone overseas on holiday and we thank her for her valuable contribution to the work in the Office..  We are delighted to welcome Maureen Stevens – retired archivist – as our part time Assistant, and to have Vanessa Yon once again looking after our accounts – a great relief!

Of the Inaugural Projects, recurrent expenses for the museum are a worry, and  the  Heritage Society has applied  to Government also, through the National Trust; the Millennium Forest has received strong support from donors and visitors, enabling the employment of two full time workers, which is increasing the efficiency and work output, although the hot, dry summer precludes planting at present; the remaining School Resource Packs are nearing completion, and the Flax Museum is more than a dream, as you will read later.

In this respect we are always grateful to our contacts and helpers here and overseas. The UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) identified funding of £5000 from the Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust, and another very welcome donation of £5000 towards the Millennium Forest, buying trial Souvenirs for sale at Eden, and the Boxwood restoration was received from the Eden Project. We are also delighted that the joint Bid , prepared by the Nature Conservation Group (SNCG), with the Directorate of Fisheries and the Tourism Office, to the Overseas Territories Environment Programme ( OTEP), for £8,652, to improve and develop the walks and marine trails and tours, so that they are more enjoyable and safe, has been successful.

We were delighted to welcome Sarah Sanders from RSPB on a first ever visit to St. Helena from that organisation, giving us an opportunity to discuss conservation of seabirds and wirebirds, and currently, Dr. Mike Pienkowski of UKOTCF, whose invaluable input ito the work needed on the Environment Charter is very much appreciated.

We have lots of irons in the fire and are VERY busy, and we need strong stakeholder support to see us through.

Barbara B. George, Director

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) pays a flying visit to St Helena

Contributed by  Sarah Sanders, RSPB International Officer – UK Overseas Territories

St Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, is home to an unusual mixture of birds. They range from eight species of seabird, mainly breeding on the offshore islands and inaccessible cliffs, to the globally threatened endemic St Helena Plover, better known locally as the Wirebird, which is found only on St Helena.

I am responsible for co-ordinating the RSPB’s programme in the UK Overseas Territories, and I visited St Helena between 22 and 29 January. Although the RSPB is also supporting work on Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha—some of you may already be familiar with the Ascension Seabird Restoration Project and the preparation of a biodiversity action plan on Tristan—it was my first visit to St Helena. The purposes were to meet with the Saint Helena National Trust, to become familiar with biodiversity issues and associated projects and institutions and to progress an EU South Atlantic regional invasive species project proposal. With many people to meet and sites to visit, it was a very busy week.

Apart from my meetings, highlights included a visit to Deadwood with the Conservation Section to see the Wirebird, where we were lucky to find one chick, and a boat trip with the Fisheries Department to monitor cetaceans and seabirds. The precarious landing on Egg Island was particularly exciting. We counted over 100 Brown Noddy nests and were very fortunate to see the elusive Madeiran Storm Petrel, which nests in burrows amongst the rocks. I also planted a Gumwood Tree at the Millennium Forest and climbed up Diana’s Peak to view the restoration work that is taking place. It was very encouraging to see the clearance of flax and the return of native vegetation to the tops of the Peaks. I also enjoyed visiting Prince Andrew’s School to give a presentation.

My visit to St Helena has confirmed that the biggest threats to biodiversity on the South Atlantic UK Overseas Territories are invasive species. These are species which do not occur naturally but which have been introduced by people. The main issues brought to my attention were the problems caused by white weed, an invasive plant. It is rapidly encroaching on pastureland, the favoured habitat of the Wirebird, at an enormous cost both to farmers and to the Wirebird. Attempts to control white weed are proving a challenge, as removing the plant manually often assists in its proliferation. Another invasive species is the Myna Bird, which was introduced in 1815 to control ticks on cattle. Unfortunately, it has caused more problems than it has solved, as it is a serious pest to fruit crops, and it is likely that it takes eggs from the Wirebird nests. At Gill Point, we found many dead seabirds and cat scats: a strong indication that feral cats are predating on seabirds and preventing them from successfully nesting on the mainland. It is hoped that if the EU regional invasive species proposal is successful, it will assist St Helena in addressing some of these issues.

It was a very busy week and my only complaint was that I did not have enough time. Thanks must be given to the Saint Helena National Trust for organising my schedule and to all the people of St Helena for making me so welcome.

 I look forward to returning in the future.

THE STORY OF Mr. BAZETT LEGG

Summarised from an article researched and collated by Michel Martineau, February 2005

Longwood House was handed over to the French in 1857. The first Curator, Gauthier de Rougemont, appointed a French Security Guard for the house and the tomb. To maintain the properties, his successor Jean Claude Mareschal, rented land at Longwood, where he began farming, with Morilleau (the security guard for Longwood House).There was very little money after the fall of the French empire, so the second curator, Jean-Claude Mareschal continued the farming, with Morilleau, of the lands rented at Longwood, Deadwood and later, the Valley of Napoleon's tomb. Mareschal left St Helena in 1880 without being replaced; Morilleau took on the additional workload from the time of Gauthier de Rougemont. It was decided to recruit a guard locally for the Valley of Napoleon's tomb, at a very low wage. In 1895, Bazett Legg, aged 20, took up this post, which he filled for the next 50 years, during which time he was present at almost all

the events connected with the French properties. He met historians, journalists, Royal Highnesses and thousands of visitors and yet his name was never mentioned – as far as we know - in any of their articles or their books. And yet all spoke about the "guard" ... a guard without a name.

            A journalist from l'Appel au Peuple visiting St. Helena to report on the French Boer prisoners in 1900, wrote:-

 the tomb, under the supervision of the guard and current conservator is kept in a perfect state and the adjacent fences are cut and carefully maintained by a white inhabitant from the island who supervises the Tomb for more than five years.

The only time that the name of Bazett Legg was published, was to report a trivial news item. This news occurred on November 1, 1904.

 the supervisor of the tomb, one named Legg, missed being assassinated by two rascals who, in his absence, let themselves into his cottage. The guard, who had gone to Longwood to be paid some schillings for his weekly wage, was delayed by very heavy rain from returning to his cottage and this saved his life.

(from the book by Albéric Cahuet: "Après la mort de l’Empereur" - Emile-Paul Editions, 1913.)

Apparently the “two rascals” were Richard and Lewis Crowie, who then went on to murder Robert Samuel Gunnell, the watchman at Prosperous Bay House, for his pay instead. For this they were hanged on February 2 1905

            In order not to allow the guard's house at the tomb to fall into ruin, the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs authorized its repair. The curator at that time, Henri Roger, replaced, in February 1915, all the woodwork attacked by the termites and the roof slates, which, after more than one century, fell in dust. He replaced the roof with sheets, and, unfortunately made the same errors as those which were made in Longwood House a few weeks later – he bought at full price, materials to repair and replace the wood destroyed by pitch pine sold off on the island because it was very vulnerable to the termites. After the restoration of the Torbett house (at the Tomb), he began work on Longwood House. Meantime he moved into one part of the guard house of the Tomb, being on his own as his wife and 8 children had already left the island, until he himself returned to France after the completion of the work at Longwood.

            He was authorised to give the keys of Longwood to Bazett Legg who agreed to deal with the whole of the French Properties. He did so for two years, until the next curator (whose ship was torpedoed in 1917 en route to the island) arrived, receiving no extra money and indeed using his own money to pay the bills.

            Georges Colin arrived on the island on 6 Oct 1919, and found out the situation, discovering that his predecessor had taken for himself a large part of Bazett Legg's wages. Eventually the French Ministry of Foreign affairs refunded the total sum due to Mr. Legg.

            M. Colin lived for the first two months in the house at the tomb, moving to converted apartments at Longwood House, giving as his reason that the house at the tomb was too small and damp. He always hated that house and avoided going there when he could.

            Governor Peel organised the official ceremonies for the centenary of Napoleon's passing in 1921. M. Colin did not seem to be very enthusiastic. The inhabitants of the island placed many floral tributes on the tomb, but the French laid only two wreaths, and there were no telegrams from France. Bazett Legg was not invited, despite the fact that he maintained the whole of the French Properties. He resembled the place: modest, without claim, vanity or pretences and yet he induced respect and admiration in many who knew him.

            His great contribution in keeping everything at the tomb clean and tidy was noticed in 1925 by someone as important as the Prince of Wales, who planted an olive tree there.

            From 1935 Bazett Legg was put in charge of the French domains, as Georges Colin, who had been unwell for several years, virtually retired on island for health reasons.

Mr. Legg bought Alarm House, near the Tomb, in 1938 after he married. During the Second World War, his health worsened, and he died on February 2 1945, as M. Colin prepared to finally leave the island.  Georges Colin wrote to Paris:-

“Bazzett (sic) Legg having been very good servant on the French fields, during fifty years: I would like to propose, that he is granted an annual help for maintenance and the education of his son”

 “Bazzett (sic) Legg had been married for only 7 years when he died aged 69. His widow was only 39 years old.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepted this request and paid a pension to Mrs. Legg until her death in February 1985”

FLAX MILL PROJECT

The National Trust Council is delighted to announce that UKOTCF has identified some funding for the new Flax Museum., from the Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust. This donation will help towards the repairs needed inside the old Pipe Building adjacent to the jail, which has now been partitioned off to give the prisoners a workshop at one end. The origins of the intact Robey steam engine, made by Robey and Co. Lincoln, Number 9201, situated there, are being researched, but we have so far established, from the Robey contact on the Internet ,  that it was sent here in 1895, so could not have been used for the first Mill as originally thought, because that folded in 1881. Bob Johnston, of the 1962 video film of the island fame, was here for another visit last month and was delighted at the state of preservation of the engine. We were able to film and interview him during his visit, to include in the local television programmes we are initiating, to publicise the Trust..

Ken Denholm's research will be published, so we have a book.with the history of the flax industry. We have the Frater film from 1962 , with the Flax sequence, the music on tape from the 1984 production of "Fibre" for Prince Andrew's visit, (and looking for anyone who may have taken a video of that), we plan interviews with former workers, some modern footage of flax clearance on the Peaks, and of course stills from the 1962 video for display boards.

LOCAL TELEVISION PROGRAMMES TO PUBLICISE ACTIVITIES

An idea that has been there since the beginning was to do a series of Local television programmes to inform people of our activities and concerns. It was difficult to implement as no one person was doing this work full time. Now Darrin and Sharon Henry have returned to the island, and Darrin is making a business of taking videos and DVD's to order. We have met, talked and are all excited about the plan for initially 12 programmes ( one a month) to cover the work of the Trust. There will be an initial introduction, and the series will, we think , cover:-

Flax Industry, Millenium Forest and Tree Preservation, the Museum, OTEP Peaks Project, Plantation House tour, Longwood House tour, Dolphin trip with wrecks, Endemic plants and animals, Old Forts, and Old Buildings – and we'll see how it develops. There are so many possibilities.

These will be short, catchy programmes, of around 20-30 minutes, and the plan is that these will eventually be available on CD to buy to order, as funds for the Trust. Darrin is well on the way to finishing the first programme.

Update on OTEP Project: Protected Area Planning for the Central Peaks

Contributed By Dr. Rebecca Cairns-Wicks

Article published in L’Appel au Peuple October 20, 1900

Alien Invaders Beware!

One of the primary objectives of the Peaks project is to develop methods to control Flax and other weeds growing on sheer slopes within Diana’s Peak National Park and at High Peak where they threatened the endemic plants. In February staff of the

Environmental Conservation Section and Mark Coleman successfully completed the climbing training programme which was delivered by Acting Deputy Fire Chief Alan Thomas, supported by staff of the Fire & Rescue Services

Peaks Project Workers and Trainers

The training has enabled them to acquire the skills and expertise needed to control Flax and other invasive plants threatening the Peaks flora on the sheer cliffs. Congratulations to Peter Bowers, Jeremy Henry, Timmy Clingham, Vincent Williams and Mark Coleman. Thanks are extended to Alan and his staff for making this possible. Work can now start on the southern side of High Peak to prevent the Flax from smothering the last remnants of the cloud forest tree ferns and their associated flora and fauna. 

Weed control work in other more accessible areas of the Peaks at High Peak and Casons has also been progressing through a combination of contractual labour and volunteer support.

Volunteers help beat back the weeds.

Members of the New Horizons Project took time out in the Christmas Holidays to help clear weeds that were encroaching on a small but important area at High Peak. Tree guards from a previously unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce Redwoods were also removed and carried to the roadside for transportation to A&NRD.

High Peak is extraordinarily rich in plants and animals, some of which are not known from anywhere else on the Island or anywhere else in the world! The area is now desperately endangered as well as being isolated from the main fragment of cloud forest found within Diana's Peak National Park.

Volunteer support is important. It helps develop understanding and a sense of shared responsibility for the conservation of the Island’s unique habitats. With limited resources available to them, neither the Conservation Section nor the Peaks Project, can tackle the threat alone. Thank you to Michael Stevens and New Horizons for your support. 

The attack against the Whiteweed at Casons continues with Year 13 students and now also Year 12 students. The Monday afternoon sessions at Casons are proving a great success, the physical activity gives students a chance to unwind from their busy academic schedule and the Whiteweed just doesn’t stand a chance!

Volunteer Days and a new environment club are being organised to get the wider public involved. Public walks to High Peak on the 21st November and Peaks on 5th December were both very well attended and much enjoyed by those who took part.

Invertebrate Database completed

During October 2004 Myrtle Ashmole set up a Microsoft Access database for the invertebrate fauna of St Helena. Under her guidance, Edward Thorpe created entries for all invertebrates recorded from St Helena in the reports of the Belgian entomologists, and incorporating earlier information. The Peaks were treated in more detail, with separate entries for each species at each of the Belgian's sampling stations on the High Central Ridge and also at Peak Dale. The design of the database allows it to be expanded to cover any new faunal survey work on the island. During the coming year it is planned to incorporate the data from the recent FCO funded work on Prosperous Bay Plain.

Planning for specialist visits

Surveying of invertebrates of the Peaks will take place later this year. The primary aim is to demonstrate the presence (or implied absence) of endemic species and make an assessment of their ranges. Indiscriminate collecting will not be involved. It may also be possible to make a serious attempt to find out how many of the endemic beetles and other invertebrates specific to the Peaks are still present on the island. Dr Philip & Myrtle Ashmole, Dr Howard Mendel and Ed Thorpe will undertake the survey and arrangements are now being made for their visit in December.

Martin Wigginton will carry out a lower plants study and this visit is also likely to take place towards the end of the year in September to October. This will include the identification and assessment of the range and status of the mosses (and to a lesser extent lichens) present across the Peaks. As with the invertebrates this would in the first part involve the collation of existing information from historical collections. The historical data and data from field work will be collated into a database. The production of an identification guide to the lower plants of the Peaks and for the staff of the Environmental Conservation Section and volunteers to receive some training in lower plant identification, will establish and help to maintain local knowledge. It might also be necessary to consider what special conservation measures should be taken for any species that are considered to be rare and endangered.

We’re also hoping for a visit from staff from Kew Gardens. Such a visit would be most welcome and timely, not just for the project but for plant conservation as a whole.

Mike Pienkowski of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum has been on the Island from 20th February for three weeks and despite a demanding programme for the Environmental Charter Project the Peaks Project Steering Group will be taking advantage of his expertise and grilling him on issues associated with the Project.

St Helena Nature Conservation Group of the National Trust

Contributed by Dr. Rebecca Cairns-Wicks

Funding success

The post box walks established by the Nature Conservation Group in 2002 are becoming an increasingly popular way for people to explore the Island. In addition, the Tourism Office has been promoting the walks along with sea based activities (diving, snorkelling, dolphin watching) as activities available to visitors. With increasing interest in these activities the Nature Conservation Group, together with the Fisheries Directorate and Director of Tourism have successfully submitted a project to the Overseas Territories Environment Programme for funding of £8,651.88 to address the need to establish best practises for providing services and improving the quality of the trails and tours, both terrestrial and marine, to ensure enjoyable and safe experiences for all. The Project will start in April.

Conservation in crisis?

On Sunday, 27th  February, 16 Nature Conservation Group Volunteers set off from Thompson’s Wood Garage to monitor the progress of the island’s rare endemic Boxwoods at Lot’s Wife, where they survive in the wild, and at White's Cottage, a more accessible site where they have been planted by volunteers. Sadly the Boxwoods had not fared as well as it was hoped, with only three individuals surviving at Lot’s Wife, out of the nine which had been growing well up to last year. A combination of mealy-bug and a lack of water seemed to have caused their demise.  Nevertheless the remaining three trees were watered and it is hoped that seed collection will occur later in the year as the shrubs are still currently in flower.

Heavy infestations of mealy bug were also evident at the White's cottage site, which had caused the death of ten individuals since they were last watered by the Cub Scouts in January. The remaining 12 individuals were hand cleaned and watered but, learning from this experience, it is clear that more regular checking and post planting care of the plants is needed if more deaths are to be prevented. Volunteers felt that it would be sensible to discontinue further planting of Boxwoods at White's Cottage (but still take care of the ones that are there) until more resources are available to provide better after care.

The Gumwoods at Peak Dale which had been planted for the Quincentenary were also checked. The situation here was also grim. Very few of the 500 gumwoods planted by volunteers had survived. Prolific growth of the alien invasive wild Mango was partly to blame but also a major contributor was predation, with evidence of cattle, sheep and rabbits in the area,. The Millennium Forest, with funds donated by Flora and Fauna International, had arranged for the planting at Peak Dale in 2002 paying for the area to be cleared ready for planting and encouraging volunteers to help plant the trees. Further funds were made available last year to re-clean the area of invasive weeds.

More worryingly, wild mango, spore, ink and gorse are spreading into the large stand of mature gumwoods and many of the wild trees are being choked and are struggling to compete. With the exception of a few scattered individuals in isolated sites, Peak Dale Gumwoods are our only surviving fragment of original Gumwood forest. It is extremely important that we try to preserve and conserve the forest at Peak Dale because it is natural. This is where the diversity and biodiversity associated with the Gumwoods themselves survives, particularly endemic invertebrate beetles and weevils. The Millennium Forest is a site where gumwoods are being re-introduced into an area from which they were lost. It cannot replace the wild site, only complement it, and help raise the profile for the conservation of the Gumwoods.