In Melda's Marsh
Who was Melda? I have yet to find out. But she has given her name to a rather special marsh. Melda's Marsh lies at the center of Seal Bay Nature Park, on the Comox Peninsula on the East coast of Vancouver Island. Surrounded by forest on all sides, its tranquility derives from the fact that one must walk for at least 20 minutes to reach it from the nearest road. It is an ecologically rich spot: in summer, dragonflies swarm over the lily ponds and birds hawk for insects. Mature trees beside the water offer ideal habitat for Red-breasted Sapsuckers whose intermittent drumming can be heard regularly. Dead trees in the marsh provide perches for Cedar Waxwings, Olive-sided Flycatchers and Merlins. Pacific Slope and Willow Flycatchers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Western Tanagers and Red Crossbills forage at the forest edges. On the west side of the marsh is Melda's Lookout, a raised area which allows views of the marsh. One can easily imagine Melda as a pioneering naturalist spending summer evenings here, observing and maybe sketching what she saw.
(Further research solved the mystery: "Melda’s Marsh was named in memory of Melda Buchanan who died in 2004. Melda contributed countless hours in her efforts to protect this area and in building trails to allow the public to experience the natural beauty of the marsh and surrounding forest" - Ian Moul and Wendy Kotilla, Ecological Inventory of Melda’s Marsh, 2012)
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