Turtle Program Spotlight!听
This August the Species at Risk team and Community Education team were able to come together to provide a spotlight on the amazing turtle conservation work of the 糖心直播 (UTRCA) through three different events.听听
The 2025 Reptiles at Risk Friends and Family Day hosted on Saturday, August 23, was a huge success! With over 120 people in attendance, we were able to share the amazing work by Scott Gillingwater, UTRCA's Species at Risk Biologist, and the Southern Ontario at Risk Reptile (SOARR) team with staff's friends and family. Participants got to learn about reptile biology and ecology, explore different research techniques, observe native turtle species, and even see hog-nosed snake hatchlings! This year, the SOARR team has been able to incubate over 12,000 turtle eggs, continuing their positive impact on turtle populations in and around the watershed.听
In addition to the Friends and Family event, a Municipal Turtle Tour was hosted to give elected officials and municipal staff throughout the watershed the opportunity to learn more about the Species at Risk work that SOARR and the UTRCA carry out. Participants learned about the history of SOARR's work, toured the turtle lab, and saw hatchlings.听
To end the season, we hosted a Turtle Talk and Tour with Nature London members on August 27. Forty Nature London members joined the Community Education team for a turtle talk followed by a lab tour with Scott Gillingwater. Through the generous partnership with Nature London, we have been able to add to our website Turtles at Risk pages and create a new Protecting Turtles pamphlet that is now available!
