[ISL] The Canadian Press on the erosion of Lennox Island

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail carries Kevin Bissett's Canadian Press article about the slow erosion of Lennox Island, just off the north coast of Prince Edward Island. What makes this all the more ironic is that Lennox Island is the main Mi'kMaq reserve in the island. If it goes, what next?

Back when he was in his 20s, Dave Haley often watched from his kitchen window as children played baseball in the field behind his home. But now at the age of 65, less than 20 feet of soil remains between his tidy green bungalow and the glistening waters of Malpeque Bay.

Lennox Island off the northwest coast of Prince Edward Island is in a battle with the sea, and the sea is winning.

“It’s devastating. This is our home,” Haley said.

Lennox Island - like the rest of Prince Edward Island - is vulnerable to coastal erosion because it’s made of sand and sandstone. There is no hard bedrock.

“Sea levels have been rising over the last 100 years and the land itself is lowering a little bit,” said Adam Fenech, director of the climate research lab at the University of Prince Edward Island.