The Acadians built dykes to reclaim the rich agricultural soil of the Tantramar marsh. By doing this the Acadians were able to plant crops and raise cattle on the reclaimed land.

The Acadians started building these dykes in mid 17th century along the sea coast that is shared between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  These dykes stretched for miles.

Today we see them on the side of the Trans Canada Highway. Even today the tall marsh grasses and swampy soil are home to many birds and animals, such as, marshhawk, muskrat etc.

The existing dykes keep the seawater from swamping railway and road links between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.