We are so blessed to be able to live here on Prince Edward Island with the ocean literally in our backyard. We try to take every opportunity we can to explore God’s creation around us, whether that is clam digging, hermit crab catching, wading or collecting periwinkles.
The summer of 2018 we lived and worked at a Bible Camp on the South shore of PEI that borders the Northumberland Strait between Nova Scotia and PEI. (You could actually see Nova Scotia in the distance from the bus). There is an island a couple of km’s offshore named St. Peter’s Island.
From all that I could gather from the locals, St. Peter’s Island was once a thriving little community, with about 20 families living there. They ran a lobster cannery, and a school. If you take time to explore, you will find old ruins of tractors and homesteads, fresh water springs and a lighthouse owned by the government now. Even on such a small island it is full of rabbits and wildlife, forests, beaches and marshes, sea caves, seals, birds, sea life, red sandstone cliffs, and meadows full of wild roses, raspberries, and wild edible plants. It is now uninhabited but privately owned by the descendants of the original 20 families. They have given permission for people to come and camp there–just leave it how you found it.
There is a large sandbar connecting St. Peter’s Island to the mainland of PEI, and at low tide you can walk right over to the Island, or you can canoe, paddle-board or boat across at high tide as the water is several feet deep. Back in the day, in the winter, a group of men would paddle, push, and pull a boat across the ice and water to deliver mail to the community living there on the island. We also heard from one fellow that coyotes travel to the island in the winter over the ice to hunt.
