HAMILTON, Bermuda, Nov 13, CMC -The Bermuda government has paid tribute to the late David Wingate, whose pioneering work changed the course of conservation and natural history in Bermuda.
The renowned Bermudian ornithologist, naturalist, and conservationist died Tuesday at the age of 91.
“David Wingate fundamentally changed the course of Bermuda’s natural history and helped shape modern conservation on the Island,” said Minister of Public Works and Environment, Jaché Adams.
The government said that Wingate’s association with the cahow began in 1951, when, at just 15 years old, he joined the expedition that confirmed the survival of Bermuda’s endemic petrel after it had been believed extinct for centuries. It said that the discovery became the foundation of a lifetime devoted to ensuring that the species had a future.
“Over the decades that followed, Wingate helped develop practical conservation methods to protect the cahow, including improvements to nesting habitat and artificial burrows. The recovery programme he helped establish continues today, and the survival of the cahow remains one of Bermuda’s most significant conservation achievements,” Adams said.
He said Wingate’s contribution extended far beyond a single species, adding that he understood that protecting wildlife also meant restoring the ecosystems on which it depended. “That philosophy was put into practice at Nonsuch Island, where he pioneered the restoration of native and endemic habitat and helped create the “Living Museum” concept.
“His work demonstrated that degraded landscapes could recover, native species could return and environmental loss did not always have to be permanent. That approach helped influence the development of conservation in Bermuda and continues to inform restoration work today,” Adams said.
He said Wingate also played an important role in building Bermuda’s conservation community, sharing his knowledge with generations of conservation officers, naturalists, students and volunteers, and was one of the founding members of the Nonsuch Natural History Course. He also contributed to the restoration vision for Trunk Island and its development as the Bermuda Zoological Society’s Living Classroom.
“David Wingate changed what Bermudians believed was possible in conservation. He helped bring a species back from the brink of extinction and showed that damaged habitats could be restored when knowledge, persistence and care were applied over time,” Adams said.
“His legacy is visible across Bermuda. It is there every time a cahow returns across the Atlantic, in the restored woodland of Nonsuch, and in the conservationists and young Bermudians who continue to learn about and protect our natural environment.
“Our native plants, birds and habitats are part of what makes Bermuda unique. David Wingate spent his life helping us understand their value and ensuring that more of that natural heritage would survive for the generations that followed him,” Adams said, adding that “Bermuda has lost a pioneer of modern conservation.
“ The cahow survives. Nonsuch lives again. The people he taught continue the work. Those are powerful measures of a life devoted to protecting the place we call home.”
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