Canada
An online webinar.
Located along the Maqmekwitk (St. Croix) River in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Wepe’k Mtasoq (White Cliff) Marsh is a 2.5 ha parcel of former farmland which was experiencing periodic tidal flooding and inconsistent drainage due to low dyke height and buried aboiteau. To address the periodic flooding, the dyke was breached in three locations and a runnel was dug to connect a relic agricultural ditch that was holding water to the river. Construction took place in September 2024 and baseline data was collected prior to the breach. The first year of monitoring has shown positive signs of vegetation recovery in the disturbed areas where the dyke was breached. Approximately 75% of the excavated material pushed onto the site has seen an increase in vegetation cover; we expect the site to fully vegetate within 1-2 years. Drought conditions in the region may have slowed the recovery within the compacted soils of the dyke footprint, however; it is not expected that these conditions will be prolonged year after year. Improvements in drainage were difficult to discern due to intense drought conditions in the summer of 2025; however, subsequent monitoring will show whether changes in hydrology can be attributed to restoration efforts or environmental conditions. Collaboration with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust and the Confederation of Mainland Mi'kmaq, incorporating indigenous knowledge, and focused carbon monitoring were unique features of this project.
Speakers:
Tony Bowron is the CEO and Senior Coastal Wetland Ecologist at CBWES Inc., where he has spent nearly three decades advancing climate resilience across Atlantic Canada.
Kayla Williams is a Wetland Ecologist with a background in plant biology and ecology, specializing in tidal wetland vegetation.