A man originally from Newfoundland has been crisscrossing Nova Scotia with his drone, trying to document all of the province’s lighthouses.

Larry Peyton says it’s a project that’s a race against time.

“The unfortunate reality is that most of them are in rough shape,” Peyton says. “Since I've done the project there are lighthouses that are no longer in existence.”

Peyton began the project two years ago. One hundred and thirty lighthouses later, and he's nearly got them all.

“That leaves me with about 28 left to get to, 25 of those are off shore,” he says.

But that’s where his problem lies. The ones left are in remote, hard to reach places. Most are only accessible by boat.

“They're going to be tough to capture, but with your help we're going to get it done,” says Peyton. 

He's now raising $6,000 to complete this passion project.

“These remote lighthouses are impossible for most of us to get to and see up close, and the drone footage takes you there,” says Sue Paul of the Sambro Island Lighthouse Keepers.

Paul credits the exposure from his images for securing a $1.6 million restoration for Canada's oldest working lighthouse.

“Through projects like Larry's we are shining a light on these beacons and they are beacons of our culture,” she says.

Joe Flemming with the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society says for the first time ever, this chapter of mariner history will be cataloged. 

“When you get someone like Larry who has a passion for lighthouses, it's infectious,” says Flemming. “You get the world caring about what's in your backyard, and when people care about what's in your backyard, you begin to care about what's in your backyard.”

Payton grew up in Newfoundland, and says that allowed him to take lighthouse for granted.

“I moved away to Alberta for several years and that's when I determined the ocean meant a lot more to me than I ever realized,” says Peyton.

“It's who we are.”

Peyton is doing everything he can to ensure that identity is realized before it's lost to time.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelland Sundahl.