Tag Archives: Miranda Cross

Animals, Environment

Miranda Cross to manage Beaver Coexistence project for Cortes and Quadra Islands 

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board awarded Rewilding Water & Earth Inc. the contract to manage a Beaver Coexistence Project on Cortes and Quadra Islands. 

The first phase is purely informational. 

“Beavers are the ultimate wetland managers, and they’re on it all the time. They’re checking their dams every day. For us humans to be able to not only co exist, but partner with wildlife like beaver will be a huge benefit to us as we see the climate changing and as we’re trying to adapt to and be more resilient to climate change,” explained Miranda Cross of Rewilding Water and Earth. 

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Farming, Food

Farming for the climate future

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tamara McPhail’s morning chore never changes, but the infinite variety of sounds and seasons makes milking cows every day unique. 

On this spring morning, Zinnia and her new calf Equinox are restless and nagging — bellowing, bleating and raring to get outside into the fields. 

Other mornings, they greet McPhail with gentle grunts and low moos as she enters the barn as if relishing the connection they’ll have with her. 

“I’m really attached to the livestock system,” says McPhail, who along with her partner Adam Schick, has been part of a team stewarding the land at Linnaea Farm on Cortes Island, B.C., closing on 25 years. 

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Arts, Environment, Indigenous Nations

Filming Dillon Creek, more than just a wetland restoration

Lives changed because of the Dillon Creek Wetland Restoration.

Project manager Miranda Cross said, “ This project really initiated a whole new life path where I am now working as a wetland restoration professional.” 

Monitoring Technician Autumn Barret Morgan studied soundscapes before she came to Cortes Island, but it was at Dillon Creek that she “started really diving into the soundscape” – which she has carried on with the Western Screech Owl Monitoring Project.

Beatrix Baxter has been making films for about 15 years, but she was feeling burned out by the time she moved to Cortes Island. The documentary film Replenish: Bringing Back the Dillon Creek Wetland is both a chronicle of the project, and part of a personal transformation.

“I’m pretty choosy about the projects I take on these days. I just really want to choose projects that are going to be quite meaningful to me and to the world,” she explained. 

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Environment

The Dillon Creek Wetland Restoration: What did they accomplish?

There was a celebration at Linnaea Farm on Friday, March 31. While they will continue to monitor the site until at least 2026, Cortes Island’s first wetland restoration project is largely finished. The surrounding community was invited to tour the project, enjoy a potluck supper and watch Beatrix Baxter’s documentary film ‘Replenish: Bringing Back the Dillon Creek Wetland.’

“We’re just at the end of a three year grant. The Environment and Climate Change Canada ‘Eco Action Community Funding Program‘ ends today. We have a little bit of funding for this next year of monitoring and maintenance and we’ll be pursuing additional funding for future years of monitoring and maintenance,” explained Project Manager Miranda Cross.

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Education

Rewilding a school wetland is a lesson in climate resilience

Editor’s note: the Miranda Cross mentioned in this article is a Cortes Island resident and Project Manager for the Dillon Creek Wetlands Restoration project.

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Quadra Elementary’s kindergarten students tried their best to follow instructions and stay seated on tarps that were spread out on the school field in an attempt to keep them clean.

But the lucky kids near the edges of the blue plastic matting already had their hands in the dirt. 

The 60-plus children recently gathered with members of the We Wai Kai Nation, Quadra Island school and community leaders and the B.C. Wildlife Federation to celebrate their new wetland restoration project by planting a selection of native trees and shrubs. 

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