Each year, four special wetlands across Nova Scotia that represent the diversity and abundance of wetlands in our province are designated as a Treasured Wetland. They highlight the importance of wetlands and the values they provide. Take a moment to explore and learn about the Dune Slack and Salt Marsh complex at Pomquet Beach Provincial Park. This site was designated in 2020.
What do you imagine when you think of sand dunes? A faraway desert? A beach on a tropical island? Or maybe piping plovers scurrying across the sand on a balmy day along the Northumberland coast. Our guess is that wetlands don't immediately come to mind.
Look at Pomquet Beach from above, and the first thing you may notice is the distinctive topography: a series of tree-covered ridges and water-filled furrows stretch back behind the beach. Geographers call this formation dune slack, and Pomquet's is one of the best examples in Nova Scotia of this rare-to-this-province ecosystem. Slacks are wet depressions between old, now-vegetated dunes that fill with water, and support wetland plants like cranberries, cattails and sweetgale.
The oldest dunes are found closest to the shore. Here, the slacks are being submerged by rising seas, leaving only the tops of the ridges exposed. Colonized by cordgrass and influenced by the tides, these ancient ridges become saltmarsh, which is protected in turn by the newly forming dunes in an endless cycle of creation and erosion. They also provide ideal nesting, feeding and resting places for ducks and other birds.
At Pomquet, we invite you to witness this dynamic landscape, and to take a peek at what’s happening between the dunes.
Thank you to our Pomquet partner, Nova Scotia Provincial Parks Department, for assisting with delivery at this site.
