The Cole Harbour Heritage Park
History
Cole Harbour salt marsh is the core of the Cole Harbour/Lawrencetown Coastal Heritage Park System, a landscape shaped by the last Ice Age. The salt marsh was important to aboriginal peoples, early settlers, sportsmen and Cole Harbour farmers.
It has been a source of fish and game, salt hay, and other natural products. There was talk of dyking the whole marsh as early as 1842 but a dyke was not built until the end of the nineteenth century. Heavy clapper gates closed at high tide leaving much of the marsh dry for pasture and haying.
The Upper Musquodoboit/Dartmouth railway line was built across the middle of the salt marsh in 1916. Soon after, the dyke was mysteriously dynamited - by those who believed it to be detrimental to the general interest. The salt marsh re-flooded but tidal flow to and from the upper parts of the marsh was now restricted by the new causeway and rail line.
Spartina, the most important plant in the salt marsh.
The mouth of the salt marsh was narrowed and a much smaller bridge built where the dyke had been. This further slowed the natural ebb and flow of the tides affecting the marsh and the barrier beach at the mouth of the harbour. With natural and man-made changes the present beach has gradually taken shape over the past 80 years.
Large flocks of Canada geese and other waterfowl continue to roost and feed in the salt marsh, surviving the many changes. Year round, it is an important site for a variety of birds - residents, migrants and occasional visitors. In summer many species nest around the marsh in its numerous diverse habitats.
Yellow Warblers in the Cole Harbour Heritage Park
Some of the land around the salt marsh was farmland, including the Cole Harbour Heritage Park on the Bisset Road, parts of which were under cultivation by the early 1780's. For about eighty years it was farmed by staff and residents of the Halifax Country Home, formerly the Poor's Farm and now the Halifax County Regional Rehabilitation Centre. Hardly used since the 1950s, the property is a wonderful mixture of old farm fields and regenerating woodland.
A Park for Cole Harbour
Since the early 1970s interest in the salt marsh and the land around it has been kept alive by the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society (C.H.R.H.S.). This represents more than a quarter of a century of stewardship during which dedicated C.H.R.H.S. members worked through public education and advocacy to bring to the attention of politicians and residents, the value and importance of protecting this fragile ecosystem. Much development occurred around the salt marsh during this period and arguments in favour of its protection are even more crucial today. Despite 250 years of post-settlement human activity it remains relatively healthy. Much of the land around it is also remarkably unspoiled.
Large tracts of land have been acquired by the province for the Cole Harbour/Lawrencetown Coastal Heritage Park. Today's popular Rainbow Haven and Lawrencetown beaches were opened as parks in 1984, but the land along the Bisset Road was not included as parkland at that time.
In 1998 the province received an important donation from the descendants of Peter McNab Kuhn who purchased the dyked marsh in 1891 and struggled to keep the ocean from reclaiming it for almost 30 years. This vast area of salt marsh will be preserved as The Peter McNab Kuhn Wildlife Management Area.
Threats from misuse and unsympathetic development of surrounding areas increase yearly. The Cole Harbour/Lawrencetown Coastal Heritage Park System is a treasure to be preserved and enjoyed. The Cole Harbour Heritage Park, as one of the more sensitive natural components of this system, must have the support of those who understand the need to protect it and use it wisely, if it is to remain an unspoiled resource for the next millennium.
The Cole Harbour Parks & Trails Association
Ice storm in 1984.
The park's future lies in the limited and careful development and responsible use.
The new Cole Harbour Parks & Trails Association has taken on the role of advocacy and protection. Its first order of business was to see the land receive full park status.
Interest in trail development grew with the concept of the Trans Canada Trail. Part of the trail will go through the Bisset Road land and connect with others, including the abandoned railway line across the salt marsh. Within the park existing trails will be used and some new side trails, connecting loops and viewing areas will be created for the enjoyment of the public.
Maintaining the integrity of water courses, the many micro-habitats and diversity of flora and fauna is a priority. Some areas will remain protected by natural barriers and lack of trail development.
Many other groups are members of, or are co-operating with, the Cole Harbour Parks & Trails Assocation.
Volunteers are currently involved in informing the public about the new park and advocating sensitive development. Some preliminary work on trail development has been started. Volunteers also promote the park through guided walks and tours; written material and photographs; planning and public relations activities; and general clean-up and monitoring.
As the project continues, more volunteers will be needed for hands-on work such as garbage pick-up, trail building, construction of boardwalks and viewing areas, visitor education, and more. It is also planned to develop the barn as an orientation/interpretive centre for the park.