Each year, Dr. Laurie Brinklow’s intrepid students from her Islandness: Culture, Change and Identity class take a “walk on the edge,” then document their experience – through words and images – of what it’s like being out on the edge of the Island. And because our class is in the winter semester, the experience isn’t of the usual sun, sand, and sea…

Here are the assignments from the 2025 cohort. Enjoy!

Laurie Eleanor Vatcher: My Imperfect Beach

It was a bitterly cold early in the morning when my husband and I started on our beach walk outside our home in Cardigan North.  But it had been so long since the tide had been out far enough, we were committed to taking the plunge (as it were) and walk while we had a beach to walk on.  This beach which I’ve walked on hundreds of times was scattered with memories spanning 60 years.  In the photo below, I am standing by a birch tree that once stood on the bank of the river.  The picture to the right is of my parents next to the same tree some 35 years ago when it (and they) were still alive.   The bank has retreated about 15 feet in the past 35 years. Continue reading…

Ya (Charlotte) Wen – Where Winter Meets Water

The winter sun hangs low on the horizon as I make my way to Victoria Park. This daily ritual of walking along the shore at dusk has become my way of understanding island life in Prince Edward Island. Coming from Hong Kong, I’m drawn to this liminal hour when day surrenders to night, when the frozen harbor takes on the colors of sunset. Today, as the temperature drops and shadows lengthen, I set out to explore these edges—both the physical boundary where land meets ice-bound sea, and the temporal threshold where winter holds us suspended between years. Continue reading…

Jing Wang – Between Ice and Illusion

This is my first time walking along a snow-covered beach – my first encounter with an ocean draped in ice and snow. To be honest, it’s quite different from what I had imagined. In my mind’s eye, a winter island should have been encircled by massive, pristine ice floes, their crystal-clear surfaces catching the sunlight and reflecting the ocean’s blues and greens like gleaming jewels. I had always thought that even in winter, there would remain a clear demarcation between coastline and ocean – a line that would constantly remind wanderers that they were treading the edge of an island. This boundary isn’t merely physical; it’s psychological, repeatedly whispering the island’s fundamental nature: a land embraced by water. Yet the ice and snow, along with the bitter cold, have blurred these lines, creating an illusion of spatial reconstruction. Under the white blanket, if not for the towering mooring posts at the harbor’s end, I would struggle to distinguish land from sea – everything merges into an endless white expanse stretching to the horizon. Continue reading…

Cheryl Wartman – A Walk on the Edge

Hexi Wang – A Walk on the Edge

My favorite walk starts at Beaconsfield Historic House (BHH) and follows the Victoria Trail toward Victoria Park in the summer of 2024. I set out along this path, enjoying the stunning views of the Hillsborough River and taking its beauty in photos. However, when I walked the same trail again at the end of January 2025, the scenery felt completely different, and even my thoughts changed.

Throughout the summer of 2024, as a full-time volunteer tour guide at BHH, I spent over 130 days admiring the Hillsborough River from different times. My work continued until December, but each time I arrived at BHH, I was captivated by the ever-changing beauty of the view from its entrance. That sense of wonder never faded, and the river always revealed something new. Continue reading…