The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) has created yet another park for environmentalists and outdoor hikers to enjoy and explore.

BNT opened a 7.5 acre national park on Friday which now protects a forest which officials said has remained “remarkably undisturbed” for hundreds of years.

President of the BNT Neil McKinney said this forest provides a unique combination of diversity.

“Unique means one of a kind and the Primeval Forest is unique on this island,” he said.

“There is nowhere else on the island like this. Everywhere else that didn’t exist in isolation is being bulldozed and filled in so it really is important that we have this one remnant that remains on this island that is preserved as a legacy for Bahamians, for school children to learn, for tourist to come and see as an attraction here in the Bahamas and it’s a wonderful thing.”

According to BNT officials the forest proved to be too difficult to farm which therefore allowed it to escape the ravages of agriculture and development over the years.

Dr. Bernard Nottage was also on hand for the opening and thanked the BNT for its continued work.

He added that it is important for young Bahamians to know about the country’s natural resources.

“Thousands of our young people who grow up in this country don’t know anything about these places, about these opportunities about the beauty and richness of our national resources,” he said.

“The Primeval Forest National Park is truly a gift to our country. In particular, it can be used as an important resource in education. Students studying Bahamian ecosystems should be able to utilise this national park to learn more about the forest ecosystem and Bahamian geological history.”

The Park has nature trials with a large number of sink holes and caves formed from a lagoon that once existed centuries ago.
BNT officials said the fossils of marine species have been found embedded in the rocks which prove that huge amounts of water would have existed before.

The park also provides opportunities to observe wildlife.

World Forestry Day was celebrated globally on Friday.

Forests cover one third of the earth’s land mass and are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land.

It is home to more than 80 per cent of animals, plants and insects.