COASTAL DISCOVERY THE SALT MARSH

f there is a single environment that ebbs and flows with the tide, it must surely be the salt marsh. A series of creeks criss-crossing this spectacular landscape are reminiscent of arteries, pumping life-giving fluid to the living organism as the tide breathes in and out every six hours. Although the creeks themselves are often spread thinly across the vast expanse, like fingers of a hand stretched out, they usually converge at a single choke point – the wrist – through which the saltwater ferociously pours in and out with the tide’s semi-diurnal cycle. It is here where the mellow marsh suddenly intensifies with strong streams rushing through; as the tide rises at sea, water is forced through the constriction and flows into the veins of the marsh. And then, as the tide starts to fall at