The Cortes Island School Wetland Project is transforming part of the school field into a living classroom that blends ecology, culture, and community effort. In today’s interview, we speak to Miranda Cross from Rewilding Water and Earth, the wetland restoration specialist, and biologist on the project
Continue reading The Cortes Island School Wetland Project
The algae blooms that began appearing in Hague and Gunflint Lakes in 2014 signaled a looming ecological crisis on Cortes Island. Fueled by excessive nutrient runoff—particularly phosphorus from septic systems, runoff from gardens, farms, and soils and sediments from eroding ditches—these blooms posed a serious threat to water quality and lake life. Recognizing the urgency, the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) launched a lake-monitoring program and, through years of data collection and expert analysis, identified wetland restoration as a key solution. That’s where the Dillon Creek Wetland Restoration Project began.
Continue reading Restoring Life to Dillon Creek
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.
Continue reading Miranda Cross to manage Beaver Coexistence project for Cortes and Quadra Islands
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.
Continue reading Farming for the climate future
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.
Continue reading Filming Dillon Creek, more than just a wetland restoration
