Minamkeak Lake
Minamkeak Lake is in the Kespukwitk District of Mi’kma’ki. It is nestled in the upper Petite Rivière Watershed and lies just outside of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
The area’s network of forests, lakes, streams, barrens, and wetlands support globally rare and at-risk species.
The Petite Rivière is the last place on Earth where the endangered Atlantic whitefish is found in the wild. Some of the other species that call this area home are eastern ribbonsnakes, Wisqoq (black ash), Canada warblers, common nighthawks, snapping turtles, and blue felt lichen.
Eastern wood pewee - Vulnerable under Endangered Species Act (2013)
Taylor Creaser, CPAWS-NS Conservation Campaigner conducting a bird survey near Minmakeak Lake.
Minamkeak Lake holds important cultural values for the Mi’kmaq. Melissa Labrador invites community members to participate in a smudge and honour the space (March, 2026).
Register for our next Reconnection Event at Minamkeak Lake: April 25th, 2026
CPAWS-NS, members of the Bridgewater Watershed Protection Alliance, and community members gather to share knowledge at Minamkeak Lake, observing multiple species at risk, including wrinkled shingle lichen (October 2025).
We continue to work with the local community to help protect this important place.
The upper Petite Rivière Watershed provides the Town of Bridgewater with drinking water, holds important cultural values, and is enjoyed by the community as a place to hike, fish, canoe, skate, swim, and camp.
At March’s reconnection event, we learned Mi’kmaq and English names for the plants around us and took time to slow down, look closer, and honour the space. A heartfelt thank you to Melissa Labrador for sharing her traditional knowledge and stories (March 2026).
Learning about and better understanding native trees and their characteristics around Minamkeak Lake (March 2026).
A spring plant guide created by Melissa Labrador and CPAWS-NS lies in a bed of Ka’qaju’mann/ Wintergreen. The red and green leaves can be seen poking around the sheet.
Here are some of the species found at Minamkeak Lake.
