Access to Nova Scotia’s shoreline is rapidly changing, and The Coastal Access Project wants to hear about coastal access experiences from Halifax residents and visitors.
Across Nova Scotia, coastal lands are becoming more difficult to get to as longstanding access points such as beaches, docks, and trails become inaccessible through land use changes or eroding shorelines. Communities are suffering the brunt of these changes and frequently lack the regulations necessary to settle disputes over access points. In many cases, this can lead to difficult conflicts between landowners and those who wish to access the coast. Acknowledging this friction, the Coastal Access Project explores how changes to coastal access affect the way people access, live by, and explore the coast by sharing stories of Nova Scotians and visitors to our province.
This summer, the Coastal Access Project is teaming up with Ocean Week Halifax to uncover how Haligonians navigate coastal access, and highlight the different ways that Halifax – and visitors to our capital city – enjoy the coastline.
From May 31st to June 10th, Master of Marine Management student Danilo Piljevic will be filming interviews with attendees of Ocean Week events across the Halifax Regional Municipality to ask how they use the coast and where they get information on public access points. Lasting just 1-3 minutes, the interviews invite people to voice their own experiences and opinions on the issue of coastal access while they enjoy the Ocean Week events. By visiting different events throughout the week, we hope hear reflections from a variety of local community members and visitors to Halifax about how access to the coastline has impacted their own lives, and what they would like the future of coastal access in Nova Scotia to look like.
After Ocean Week 2025, make sure to look out for “How Does Halifax Get to the Ocean?” videos on Ocean Week’s platforms, which will feature interview segments.
If you have an event you think we should attend, or know someone whose story should be shared, please register today!
To learn more about the Coastal Access Project, visit:
https://www.hannahharrison.ca/coastal-access-project