“It tells you a lot, whenever you see barns that have stood 100 or 150 years blown over and collapsed,” said Daniel MacFadyen after post-tropical storm Fiona devastated Prince Edward Island, Canada, in September 2022. “That just tells you that it was winds we haven’t seen here before.”

The farm, located by the south shore of PEI, suffered some downed trees and damage to a tractor during Fiona. The MacFadyens have noticed other elements of climate change that require changes to how they and others farm the land. They have noticed some varieties of potatoes better handle summers that have been hotter and drier in recent years. And when it does rain, the water more often comes in torrents that wash away soil rather than seeping into the red earth.

Three generations of the MacFadyen family work on the farm. Daniel's grandfather, Jeddy MacFadyen, 97, and grandmother, Joyce, still host family-style dinners for staff in their enclosed porch that overlooks the fields. Jeddy took over the farm as a teenager and now even his young great-grandchildren, especially 5-year-old Kai, participate under careful supervision during the harvest.

Islanders have always had to adapt to hardships, but little Kai's generation will be the first to have spent their entire lives with the impacts of climate change. What kind of life remains for Islanders in years to come?