Your Nana's gravestone might be sliding into the sea
Good morning from the Atlantic — three provinces, five communities, and the stories that cross every border. Now look, friends, I've got something for your coffee break today that's some shocking, even for us out here. You know how much we cherish our history on Prince Edward Island, right? We're the Cradle of Confederation, for goodness sake, and we'll remind you every chance we get. But what happens when that history, quite literally, starts to disappear into the Northumberland Strait?
We're talking about our oldest cemeteries, b'y, some of them dating back two centuries or more, slowly but surely being lost to coastal erosion. Imagine your ancestors' final resting place, a spot you've visited your whole life, now teetering on a sandy cliff edge, with the sea just eating away at it day by day. It's not just a few forgotten plots, either. We're talking about whole graveyards, the kind where generations of Island families are buried. It's a stark reminder that our beautiful red shores, while iconic, are also incredibly vulnerable.
### What This Means for Charlottetown
This isn't just a grim historical footnote; it's a very present and future problem for communities all along the coast, including folks not too far from Charlottetown's historic downtown.
* **Loss of Heritage:** These aren't just names on stones; they're direct links to the settlers, farmers, and fishers who built this province. Losing them is like tearing pages out of our collective family album. * **Emotional Toll:** For families with loved ones buried in these coastal plots, the thought of their graves being washed away is agonizing. It's a violation of peace and memory. * **Infrastructure at Risk:** While cemeteries are the most poignant example, this erosion threat extends to roads, homes, and vital coastal infrastructure across PEI.
It makes you think, doesn't it, about how we protect our past when the very land beneath us is shifting? It's not quaint, it's a real challenge, and one that Charlottetown and other Island communities are grappling with right now. It means tough conversations about preservation, relocation, and what we value most when the sea comes calling.
Bridget Chicken-MacPhail, MiTL Sports Desk, Charlottetown.
My cousin Mitch on Island Morning has been digging into this, you can catch what he’s found at mornings.live.