OTCC’s New Location
Photo of our new facility, taken November 2024.
Paddy’s new enclosure, featured prominently in our new 200 sq metre (2,100 sq foot) Education Centre!
Where Community and Conservation Connect
We’re sure you’ve heard…Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre is building our forever home! Our new, purpose-built, facility is located 10 minutes from our previous leased site, on 100 acres of land gifted to us by Mary and Gerry Young.
Phase 1 is complete. We renovated two buildings at our new site, adding over 3,000 sq. ft. to house recovering turtles!
Phase 2 is now complete. We finished construction on our new 10,000 sq. ft. permanent facility! We are still getting settled in, and when fully set up this will house our new hospital – including ICU, hatchling area, and new larger education centre; allowing greater capabilities for all. Click here for a sneak peek inside.
Phase 3 is gearing up. This final phase involves completing the outdoor components, including landscaping, the outdoor education area, driveway, and parking area. These additions are crucial for expanding our educational reach and establishing Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre as a destination for conservation education in Ontario.
None of this would be possible without the generosity of our supporters, including our donors, capital campaign contributors, and of course Mary and Gerry Young.
January 2025
We have completed Phase 2 of our New Build!
Construction of our new 10,000 sq. ft. permanent facility is now complete, and we are getting settled in. Stay tuned for updates – we’ll let everyone know when we are ready to welcome visitors to our new location.
We are now entering Phase 3 of our Capital Campaign. In this final phase, we will complete significant outdoor components, including landscaping, the outdoor education area, driveway, and parking area. These enhancements will enable us to expand educational programs, increase attendance, and diversify revenue streams, thereby ensuring organizational sustainability and establishing OTCC as a premier destination for conservation education in Ontario.
See the full update or read our 2024 Year-End newsletter for a sneak-peek inside.
OTCC’s New Location – Recent Updates
October 2024
We are excited to announce that we have successfully relocated from our previous leased location to our new address at 2785 Television Rd! Our hospital is fully up and running at the new location, however we are not quite ready for visitors yet. We are so close to completion of the new building and obtaining occupancy – and can’t wait to invite you in the new year.
May 2024
Construction on our new facility is nearing completion! Exterior walls are complete, windows are in place, roofing is installed, and siding is nearly complete. Interior work, including plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, is now well underway.
December 2023
A little sneak peek and a big THANK YOU!
Thank you to all our donors, big and small, for your support getting us here. Check out the video for a little sneak peek inside our new facility!
Why do we need a new facility?
Our current location is limited in space and scope… a new dedicated facility and grounds will provide opportunity to have a greater impact on conservation by having…
More capacity to fulfill our potential as a leading-edge teaching hospital
More space to incubate and hatch eggs collected from turtles admitted to our hospital
Greater scope for the public to get involved and learn about conservation
More space to overwinter more hatchlings, therefore increasing survival when released
Past Updates
November 2023
The new facility is taking shape!
Construction is progressing rapidly and on schedule! The pictures at right show progress as of October and November, 2023.
August 2023
We have broken ground at our new facility!
Present were the major pillars of our Capital Campaign as well as local dignitaries. Construction is due to be completed by the end of the year, and we hope to be using it by next turtle season!
Read the full August 2023 update.
Spring 2023
We are excited to share that the response to our Capital Campaign has been phenomenal and we have started construction on our new facility!
The new facility can’t come soon enough. With over 3,000 turtles currently overwintering, our Centre is overflowing! Admissions to OTCC’s hospital have quadrupled in a few short years. The rapid increase in admissions, eggs, hatchlings, attendance, and community involvement has pushed our current facility well beyond capacity. A new purpose-built facility will enable OTCC to realize key conservation goals by significantly increasing our capacity to rehabilitate injured turtles and head-start hatchings, in order to help stabilize declining populations and replenish our life-sustaining wetlands.
Read our Spring 2023 newsletter for the full update.
The artist depiction shown was generously donated by artist Ray McNeice.
Update 2021
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!
But, that is only the start of our BIG plans! Phase 2 involves building our own permanent facility on this same property. We plan to build a new 10,000 sq. ft. building that will house our new hospital – including ICU, hatchling area, and education centre!
Read the full 2021 Update
Update 2020
OTCC has been generously offered the use of property nearby, to expand into. With huge thanks to Mary and Gerry Young, we are so fortunate to be able to see this project unfold. Mary and Gerry Young were born on this property, and have a great respect and love for nature. They would like their property to be protected forever, and to be used for conservation purposes. We met them at one of OTCC’s Open Houses, which made them think that OTCC would be a perfect fit for their property!
The property lies on 100 acres very close to our current location, we have renovated two existing buildings on the site to allow us to expand our capacity.
Above Left: OTCC Executive and Medical Director, Dr. Sue Carstairs, toasts Mary Young, for her generous donation: Mary and her brother Gerry are indeed Turtle Heroes!
Above Right: On the day we signed our mutual agreement; from left to right- OTCC Executive and Medical Director Sue Carstairs, Mary Young, Gerry Young, and OTCC Vice-Chair Colin Cassin.
For our “Phase 1”, we have now completed two buildings on this property. We completely gutted the building (below left) and added all new electrical (thank you Mike Scriver; electrician!). We also had a new well dug (Herb Land Well Drilling did this for the turtles free of charge!), and new furnace and plumbing. The rest was mainly done with a lot of elbow grease from some amazing volunteers. The finished result for the first building is shown below (right) and this building has been in use all season, allowing more room at our main centre for admissions!
We thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Gordon and Patricia Gray Animal Welfare Foundation, the Rotary Club of Barrie and all our amazing supporters, for making this project happen!
Second Building
The second building is now completed, and you can see the evolution below. We are delighted with the results, and so are the many turtles that are now recuperating there for the winter! Thank you once again to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, for their support on this project!
Above: The second building shown before renovations were started
Above: The second building now completed and full of grateful turtles!