The Living Pantry: Science & Seaweed
Explore the intertidal zone of the Minas Basin, an ecosystem submerged twice daily by the highest tides in the world.
Your guide will show you how to identify various marine organisms and explain sustainable harvesting principles.
You will learn about the edible uses of seaweeds and kelp. The tour concludes with a beach picnic featuring preserved intertidal ingredients paired with complementary local foods.
The intertidal zone is one of the most dynamic and extreme ecosystems on Earth — a place of constant change, shaped daily by the powerful rise and fall of the tides. Along the rocky and sandy shores of the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Basin, this living landscape is completely submerged once or twice each day by the Highest Tides in the World, creating a rare and richly productive environment teeming with life.
On this immersive guided experience, you’ll explore the intertidal zone at low tide, learning to identify a diverse array of organisms while gaining insight into their ecological roles. Your guide will introduce sustainable harvesting principles, the edibility and uses of seaweeds and kelp, and the careful balance required to forage responsibly within this sensitive coastal habitat.
The experience culminates in a delicious beachside picnic designed to engage all the senses. Enjoy freshly harvested and preserved intertidal morsels paired with thoughtfully prepared complementary foods, creating a unique, tide-inspired tasting that reflects both place and season. This is a hands-on, taste-forward encounter with one of Fundy’s most productive natural environments.
A rare blend of science, sustainability, and coastal cuisine, this experience is ideal for curious minds, adventurous palates, and those seeking a deeper connection to the living shoreline.
This tour is tidal-dependent. Final confirmation regarding start-time will be forwarded no later than 3 weeks prior to your tour.
Complimentary pick up is optional if clients are staying in Parrsboro.
Meeting point for clients travelling from Halifax, Truro, Amherst or Advocate Harbour:
Fundy Geological Museum parking lot, 162 Two Islands Road, Parrsboro, NS
Drop off after conclusion of tour is either the original pick up or meeting point.
Preparing for your guided tour during Summer months:
Please carry water (1 litre per person), a small snack and sunscreen in your daypack. Wearing a hat is recommended. Ensure your footwear is suitable for navigating beaches. Closed-toe and lace-up shoes are a must. We cover a variety of terrain ranging from fist-sized rocks, pebbles and sand with potentially muddy sections. Your guide will have trekking poles available if you choose to use them for added balance and easier navigation of the varied terrain.
Our tours are conducted in all weather. In case of rain, ponchos will be part of the guide’s kit. Tours are subject to cancellation only when thunderstorms are imminent.
Watershoes available.
Professional guide with sustainable intertidal foraging experience;
Water shoes;
Harvesting tools;
Gathering bags;
Rustic beach picnic featuring freshly harvested ingredients paired with complementary foods;
.
The tour operator will touch base within 96 hours prior to your booking date to communicate weather conditions and confirm the start time.
Please tell us a little about yourself:
What is your walking experience, fitness level or mobility limitation? To ensure the best outcome for your bespoke tour, please also share any special objectives. (Interested in photography, rocks, geological history, folklore, flora and fauna?)
Email or text Anna with additional questions or special requests . This is your best option!
Our email <parrsboroshoretours@gmail.com>
Phone calls are always welcome. While we are conducting tours, you will reach our message system. We will return your call once we are back in the office. Our number 1-306-631-8539
Our cancellation policy is 72 hrs prior to tour start for day tours and 30 days for overnight tours.
Full payment is due upon booking. In the event of a cancellation more than 72 hrs (day tours) or 30 days (overnight tours) prior to tour start, Tide Rollers & Mudlarkers will refund the tour price less a 20 % handling fee. For cancellations of less than 72 hrs or 30 days respectively, please note that no refund can be issued.
Should a tour have to be postponed by Tide Rollers & Mudlarkers due to unsafe weather conditions (thunderstorms, hurricanes), we will try and move your booking to an alternative date. Please plan your trip so that you can switch to a different date just in case. In the event that you are unable to switch dates, you will receive a refund of the tour price less a 20 % handling fee, or you can turn your booking into a non-refundable gift certificate for the full value of the tour (no expiration date).
