An online voting campaign is underway to help save historic Nova Scotia lighthouses. People can visit the website and cast their vote to save their beloved beacon.

Cape Breton’s Gabarus lighthouse, which has been a centerpiece of the fishing village for generations, is among the lighthouses competing for both votes and funding.

“It’s in the viewscape for everyone in this village, practically from their homes, their back porches, their front decks,” says Tim Menk of the Gabarus Lightkeepers Society. “It’s been here since 1890, it’s 125 years old.”

But the lighthouse is in desperate need of repair – tens of thousands of dollars’ worth.

It must also be moved more than 20 feet back from shore, where it is endangered by erosion.

“It’s part of what’s in the bones of people who have lived here for generations and it’s still a safety feature for fishermen who fish out of this harbour,” says Menk.

That’s why the community group fighting to preserve the lighthouse is hoping to cash in on the new online crowdfunding competition for Nova Scotia lighthouses.

“These lighthouses were really sideswiped by new technology like GPS, so it’s only fitting that we use new technology like social media and an online voting platform to help save them,” says Natalie Bull, executive director of the National Trust for Canada.

Thirteen lighthouses are competing in the ‘This Lighthouse Matters’ competition, with $250,000 raised by the National Trust of Canada being split among the nine that garner the most online votes.

In addition to casting a vote, visitors to the website also have an opportunity to make a donation to help save their favourite lighthouse.

“For these structures to survive, they need to move into the hands of community groups and those groups will need access to funding,” says Bull.

You can only vote once a day, but you can vote for as many lighthouses as you like. More than 4,000 ballots have been cast since voting opened Wednesday.

“It’s about raising awareness and we think this is a really interesting, creative way to attract people to the issue,” says Bull.

The winners will be announced after voting closes July 15.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald