Heart Lake Turtle Troopers

We rarely see hatchlings this age out of water but when we do its always a nice surprise! It took a full 3 to 4 years for this hatchling to reach this size. It will take another 16 plus years for this species to reach sexual maturity. Who am I? Photo courtesy Michele Blanchard-Seidel

In 2024, our volunteers, trained and under permit, excavated 99 turtle nests. These nests were excavated because they were deemed to be high risk. Roadside nests, nests located in baseball diamonds and other high traffic areas. We sent 1,893 eggs to Scales Nature Park to be incubated and those babies are now making their way back to this region to be released back into their mothers wetland. In addition we placed nest protectors on another 79 nests! We also recovered many injured and deceased turtles that were sent to Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre via turtle taxi. This Centre provides medical treatment and many of these injured turtles recovered from their injuries and were re released back to where they were originally found. Turtles that were found deceased were also sent because many are females that are carrying eggs. These eggs can be recovered and incubated! We worked closely with Brampton Animal Services who contacted us when an injured turtle was called in by the public and they dropped off these patients to one of our volunteers homes. Our volunteers would then coordinate a turtle taxi, who most often would go to a first responder vet clinic in Orangeville, to receive immediate treatment for pain relief. What's next? Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on hatchling releases. These events are to share our activities with the general public and to meet our hatchlings in person!

The Common Snapping Turtle is a relic from over 200 Million years ago. A marvel to behold.

Animex International has been a great supporter to our organization! And wanted to share one of their exciting new projects. Spot the spider…👀🕷️ Some of our team are currently in Colorado helping with the installation of the first ever tarantula fence!🕷️👷🏻♂️👏🏼 We can’t wait to share more about this exciting project🤩🕷️

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This is what Urban City Conservation looks like. Our volunteers spend a great deal of time protecting these species as they search for nesting grounds and move to other wetland habitats. #conservation #turtles #ontarioturtles

We had a great turnout for our 3rd annual Family Fun Night at Jim Archdekin Recreation Centre! 🐢 Thank you to our 30+ volunteers who helped watch over our various booths including the scavenger hunt and kids zone! There were 17 tables with Peter doing our Djembe Drum teaching, Scales Nature Park with live snakes and turtles, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) with their 3D turtle models, The Home Depot Store #7006 getting kids into building at an early age, BEA, PAL, MPP Graham McGregor and a number of our City friends: Brampton Animal Services, Brampton Fire, City of Brampton Grow Green People Against Littering Stormwater Programs and Parks and Forestry. We must have had 300+ people out even with the threat of rain. There was a definite theme in the feedback from people who attended: “The kids learned so much! They got to touch a snake! And today with the rain, there have been discussions of where the water goes.” “It is great to have events like this that bring the community together, and it’s nice to have such a diverse community out together.” “The kids loved getting to do activities like building a flower plant holder with Home Depot, making seed balls with Grow Green and getting to see and touch snakes and turtles. We learned so much about turtles and how we can help the environment.” 🐢💚 This event was made possible by TD Park People / Ami·es des parcs #TDParkPeople 🌈💚

How to Help an Injured Turtle 🐢🤍 Now that the weather is warmer, turtles are out and about, so it’s important we are aware and help them when they need us most 💚. We work closely with Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre to help ensure the safety of these precious critters. For more info reach out to us on IG at @heartlaketurtletroopers or @ontarioturtlecc 🐢 1. Carefully place the injured turtle in a well-ventilated container with a secure lid. 2. Note the location (road, major intersection, kilometre marker) where the turtle was found to ensure it can be released according to provincial regulations. Pictures also help! 3. CALL US ASAP at 705-741-5000. 4. Do not offer the turtle water or food, and do not try to treat the turtle in any way. They probably won’t even like our food anyway. Always wash your hands after handling the animal. Please remember to stay safe and put your own safety first.