Sara Beanlands is a Principal and Senior Archaeologist with Boreas Heritage Consulting Inc., specializing in cultural resource management. Graduating from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1998, and completing a Master’s degree in History at Saint Mary’s University in 2010, Sara has undertaken a wide range of archaeological projects throughout Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Ontario. Her work has been published in the Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, the International Journal of Maritime History and the University of Edinburgh Journal. She has served as President of the Nova Scotia Archaeology Society, currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Archaeological Land Trust of Nova Scotia and the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, and recently joined the faculty at Saint Mary’s University as an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology.

During the summer of 2013, Sara directed a large public archaeology programme on a farm in the small rural community of Poplar Grove, that contains both Pre-Deportation Acadian archaeological resources and evidence of early Planter occupation. Offering a unique opportunity to explore the cultural interface of Acadian/Planter settlement in Nova Scotia, participants in the public programme included direct descendants of both the original Acadian and Planter families who occupied the site.