April DeJong (Team Lead) Hello all, my name is April. This is my third field season with the OTCC and I am very excited to get back out there! I have my B.Sc. in Biology from Trent University and have graduated from the Fish and Wildlife Technology program at Fleming College. [...]
Spring 2021 Dear Friends and Supporters, We have some “turtle-y” amazing news to share! Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre is building its forever home! “Where Community and Conservation Connect” Thanks to you, we have renovated two buildings at our new site; a 100-acre farm 10 minutes from our currently leased site. This was Phase 1 [...]
People from all over the world can recognize a turtle, they have a distinctive appearance that intrigues us. This sparked my curiosity as to how turtles play a role in human history, throughout different cultures around the world. Blanding’s turtle. Photo taken by Lisa Browning. Most of my research has led to [...]
Hello all! As many of you know the field team is out and about tracking juvenile head-started, wild, and translocated Blanding’s turtles, via radio telemetry. We started off the 2020 season tracking 19 turtles and currently we are up to 25 individuals! This season we found a turtle that was lost in 2017, likely [...]
Many of you may be wondering what it is like to work as a part of the OTCC field team, out of general interest or due to aspirations of one day working on a similar project. If I were to try and explain every aspect of what is involved in our work I fear [...]
Throughout my life I have always loved being outside and experiencing nature. Even to this day I am still awe-inspired by the vast outdoors and I am constantly learning. I feel very excited to be working alongside such a knowledgeable team in a fantastic environment this summer. We have only been working for about [...]
By Lisa Browning As the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, it reminds me of the many diseases and viruses that animals are faced with, including turtles. Ranavirus infects amphibians, fish, and reptiles, and has been found in Ontario’s turtles. Just like how COVID-19 can be transmitted through our environments and between humans, [...]
Hello everybody, our field team will be tracking 19 juvenile Blanding’s Turtles at our field site: 9 are wild hatched juveniles, 8 are head started juveniles (hatched and reared at the centre), 2 are translocated juveniles (turtles that were injured near the field site (hit by car etc.) and released into the field site [...]
2021 Update OTCC's New Location: A Place to Grow Into Where Community and Conservation Connect Thanks to our generous donors, we have finished renovating two buildings at our new site. This was Phase 1 of our long-term plan and has added over 3,000 sq ft to house recovering turtles! [...]
Our everyday adventures lead us to witness unique species throughout unique environments. From deep open water to shallow mud channels, over land to diminishing ephemeral pools, Blanding’s turtles travel and travel far. Most are found during such travels as their domed backs just slightly crests the surface, or as they bask in the sunlight. [...]
Create Turtle Habitat, by Grace Wiley It wouldn’t take more that taking a nickel out of your pocket or biting into a “Beaver Tail” to remind you of this Canadian icon. Beavers are imbedded into Canadian culture and history. Whether you love them or think of them as a pest; [...]
Radio tracking turtles can be thought of as the most rewarding game of hide-and-go-seek there ever was, mostly because the reward is finding a gorgeous, potentially sassy reptile. Turtles are often portrayed as slow-moving animals but boy oh boy can these little critters move. Not only do our turtles move, but they travel to [...]
