New documentary explores difficult decisions for the Bay of Fundy Dykelands

The Bay of Fundy's dykelands symbolize the Annapolis Valley's agricultural heritage. On June 1, TransCoastal Adaptations celebrated the release of a new documentary that offers a balanced look at building climate‑resilient dykelands.

The documentary was the featured film for the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The event, Fundy Monday: A Tale of Two Landscapes, screened the documentary followed by a conversation with practitioners and researchers who have been working on dykeland futures in the region.

The sold-out event included a panel discussion (from left to right) with Dr. Elena Bennett, Tony Bowron, Dr. Danika van Proosdij, Dr. Kate Sherren, and dykeland landowner Don Webster.

We joined the Wolfville community in celebrating these remarkable landscapes while offering fresh perspectives on what we know about them in the face of 21st-century challenges. The event sold out and the theatre packed. Attendees asked intricate questions about how wetland restoration. The screening demonstrated the Wolfville’s community active engagement in the future of the dykelands.

The film was screened at the 2026 Atlantic Canada Coastal and Estuarine Science Society Conference and the Connected Resilience: Atlantic Adaptation Conference. The film was part of the NSERC ResNet project and represents six years of collaborative research on dykeland futures.

Watch the full film on YouTube:

The history of agriculture along the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia is rich and filled with stories. From the original Mi’kmaw people who have called this region home since time immemorial, to the Acadian colonists who converted salt marshes into viable agricultural land through innovation and hard work, to modern-day Nova Scotian farmers continuing to maintain the land, the Bay of Fundy coastline has provided food and community security for generations. Today these coastal communities face rising sea levels and stronger storm surges caused by global climate change, leading to difficult decisions about how to protect and preserve farmland, wild habitats and the Maritime way of life in a changing world.

Credits:

• Executive Producer – Dr. Elena Bennett

• Producer, Assistant Editor, First AC – Dr. Morgan Jackson

• Assistant Producer – Nicole Middlemiss

• Director of photography, Editor – Mark Wyatt – https://wyattvisuals.com/

• Fixer, PA - Ive Velikova

Featuring (in order of appearance):

• Dr. Jonathan Fowler -- Professor, Department of Anthropology, Saint Mary's University

• Dr. Gerald Gloade -- Cultural Educator, Mi'kmawey Debert Cultural Centre

• Tony Bowron -- Founder and CEO, CB Wetlands and Environmental Specialists

• Don Webster -- Port Williams, Nova Scotia,

• Dr. Kate Sherren -- Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University

• Dr. Danika Van Proosdij -- Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Saint Mary's University

We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). For more information, visit Transcoastal Adaptations.

Reimagining Rural Resilience: Changing Landscapes and Lifescapes in the Bay of Fundy

Dr. Danika van Proosdij and Dr. Jonathan Fowler presenting to 50 in-person participants and 30 virtual participants in the inaugural event in the Reimagining Rural Resilience: Changing Landscapes and Lifescapes series. Photo by Ive Velikova.

On Thursday, February 26, 2026, we welcomed 80+ community members, researchers, practitioners, and students to reimagine resilience in the Bay of Fundy dykelands.

This was the inaugural event in our new public series titled Reimagining Rural Resilience: Changing Landscapes and Lifescapes.

Co-hosted by the Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies, the TransCoastal Adaptations Centre for Nature-Based Solutions at Saint Mary's University, and the Community Conservation Research Network, the evening marked an important step in bringing leading coastal adaptation research into conversation with the public.

Our team’s work combines award-winning restoration initiatives, applied nature-based solutions, and sustained boots-on-the-ground research across Nova Scotia’s coastal landscapes. This fireside chat format was intentionally designed to make complex research more approachable.

TransCoastal Adaptations’ booth showcasing our managed dyke realignment work projects. Photo by Ive Velikova.

Attendees could engage directly with science, ask questions, and explore what resilience means for communities living and working along the Bay of Fundy.

Led by Dr. Danika van Proosdij and Dr. Jonathan Fowler, the discussion highlighted how dykelands sit at the intersection of environmental change, agricultural heritage, community values, and climate adaptation planning.

The strong turnout and active participation reinforced the growing appetite for practical, collaborative approaches to climate resilience grounded in both science and community knowledge.

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Through this event, we successfully:

• Made current coastal adaptation research accessible to a broader public audience

• Strengthened relationships between researchers, practitioners, and communities

• Showcased applied, field-based research shaping real-world decisions

• Built momentum for future conversations on rural resilience in Atlantic Canada

Dr. Danika van Proosdij showcasing her geomorphology research in the Bay of Fundy Dykelands. Photo by Ive Velikova.

Thank you to S. Karly Kehoe, Dr. Tony Charles, Dr. Jen Vanderburg, Mathias Rodorff, and Ive Velikova for your leadership on this event.

If you’re interested in collaborating, supporting this work, or helping expand community-engaged climate research through partnerships or funding, we would love to connect.

Reach out to transcoastaladaptations@smu.ca.