- A light blanket of snow covers the preserve. Open water and birds in The Cove Estuary.
CROSSROADS’LAND RESTORATION EFFORTS
In 1993, the Sturgeon Bay Educational Foundation purchased 53.3 acres, land that was marketed as “an ideal place for a gas station.” Since then, Crossroads at Big Creek has grown to nearly 200 acres and has been actively engaged in ongoing ecological restoration.
A REMEANDERING
One of the very first things Crossroads did, in 1998, was to allow Big Creek, which had been channelized for agricultural purposes, to remeander – to rediscover its natural course. This simple act of a creek finding its way back to its natural path has become a metaphor for a larger effort to revitalize the ecological health of Crossroads at Big Creek and, by extension, the 6,253-acre watershed that feeds it.
Our long-term vision is for Crossroads to evolve into a coherent landscape of healthy, diverse, and largely self-sustaining ecological communities, providing wildlife habitat for a variety of species. Through accessible trails and ongoing programs, Crossroads enables its human community of all ages and backgrounds to gain environmental literacy while participating in the restoration, care and enjoyment of the Preserve.
In 2021, Crossroads at Big Creek adopted a three-year Ecological Restoration Plan, Crossroads at Big Creek (March 2021, Landscapes of Place) prepared by Landscapes of Place to guide its restoration efforts.
HABITAT HEALERS
A Community Comes Together to Restore Land
Every Saturday morning spring through fall, friends, families and individuals meet at the workshop at the Big Creek Preserve to help restore Crossroads' habitat. Join us! No experience is necessary.
LAND RESTORATION SCHOOL
Teaching Land Restoraton
In 2022, Crossroads at Big Creek worked with Landscapes of Place to initiate the Land Restoration School, an eight-week academic program teaching the principles, practice and planning of ecological restoration for degraded lands – an educational immersion in land restoration.
SUPPORT FOR LAND RESTORATION
Crossroads is incredibly grateful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Sustain Our Great Lakes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program, the Fund for Lake Michigan, the Door County Community Foundation’s Healthy Water Door County, and the Frog and Toad Fund, among others, for providing funding, support and vision for our land restoration efforts.
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