Bill Merilees a prominent BC naturalist educator and conservationist will lead a field trip around Buttertubs Marsh. Saturday May 13 at 1 pm. Meet at the brick Miner’s Cottage (built 1910-1912) at Jinglepot Road and Second Street. Bill will interpret the scope of the full circle of land use and development history of the now reclaimed wetland and sanctuary. The Hudson Bay Company purchased the marsh in the mid-1800s draining it for vegetable farming and a dairy cattle farm. During wartime the reclaimed land served as a military camp and training ground. A bird nesting platform now stands on an old concrete base of a military radio antenna. Threatened to be built over during a housing boom in the 1970s the Nature Trust of British Columbia purchased 50 acres in 1974 to form the Buttertubs Marsh Conservation Area. In 1990 Bill started the first ButterTubs Management Committee known later as the Friends of Buttertubs. Note: alternative parking can be found at the other side of the marsh on Buttetubs Drive off Bowen Road requiring a walk through the Marsh to the Miner’s Cottage.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Buttertubs Marsh Conservation Area, 197 Bird Sanctuary Drive, Nanaimo, Canada