My passion for animals began in the early years. As a child it was all about cats (domestic & wild) and owls. I was fascinated by both and knew then how lucky we are to have wildlife in our world. It wasn’t until many years later I had the opportunity to help wildlife that are injured or orphaned. I have been volunteering for 14 years and have had the privilege of educating the public with raptors on my arm as well as rescue of owls and hawks in trouble.

When I decided to move back to my home town of Peterborough, I immediately set out to find wildlife volunteer opportunities in this region. Learning about turtles in our region has been eye-opening. First I was a rescue driver for KTTC then was asked to look after the online store, and memberships. When orders come in from our website store, I package them and mail. Membership renewals are sent though out the year and Membership cards with a letter are issued. As I work full time, I can do these tasks on my own hours.  My fellow volunteers will sometimes get emails from me at 5 am!

It is great to be a volunteer at KTTC. I have met wonderful people and it gives me a chance to be involved with wildlife.

Competition for the coordinator position was stiff – we received over 130 applications over the month of December. We would like to thank all those who applied for the position, and congratulate the sucesful candidate Kate Siena!

Kate joined KTTC in May of 2010 as volunteer/outreach coordinator hired through an earlier one year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Upon completion of the grant she stayed on, filling the role on a volunteer basis. Kate has over 17 years of experience working with the public, volunteers, and various species of wildlife through her many roles at the Toronto Wildlife Centre, including managing the nation’s largest wildlife hotline. Since joining the team at KTTC she has been able to focus exclusively on the turtles of Ontario.

In response to these knowledge gaps, and the Ministry of Transportation’s initiative to develop wildlife warning sign policy for Species at Risk in Ontario, Eco-Kare and it’s partners began a research study to inform effective sign placement on roads. We inventoried and obtained an accurate location using geographic positioning technologies for a rigorous sample of over 700 turtle crossing signs, with various designs, along municipal roads. Inventories were difficult because often sign locations were not well-documented, and or signs were stolen from their selected location! Ongoing work will evaluate placement mechanisms for signs, including citizen science knowledge, turtle dead and alive on road data, and Geographic Information System predictive models as effective tools for sign placement. To maximize effectiveness of a road signage strategy across large regions, a co-ordinated approach is required that utilizes current technical, and expert knowledge. In addition a strategy should consider selective placement, and subsequent monitoring of warning signs in an adaptive approach.

*Final results for this study will be made available in spring 2012. For more information contact Kari Gunson (kegunson@eco-kare.com), Eco-Kare International, 644 Bethune Street, Peterborough, Ontario, K9H 4A3.

Ontario Trillium Foundation: $118,700 over 3 years to hire a development/sustainability co-ordinator, who will enhance the organization’s capacity for fund development, outreach and community engagement. This will increase awareness of Ontario’s native turtle populations and provide opportunities for professionals, students and volunteers to become involved and learn about turtle rehabilitation.

Friends of the Environment Foundation:  Granted KTTC the $5,000 we requested to buy food, medicine, UV lights and filters for the turtles, and an additional $25,000 after seeing a story about the centre in the Toronto Star!

The Schad Foundation: Provided $5,000 toward the cost of operating the turtle hospital.

Helen Mcrae Peacock Foundation: Granted funds to cover the cost of our 2011 hatchling program, including an incubator, x-rays and operating and staffing costs for the “nursery”.

The McLean Foundation: Donated funds in 2011 to support the turtle hospital.

This winter there will be 191 turtles under care at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre (KTTC).

Peterborough’s KTTC opened in 2002 and since then has successfully treated and released thousands of turtles back into the wild.

Some gravid females lay their eggs while in care. These eggs are then incubated in the nursery along with eggs that have been extracted from female turtles that succumbed to their injuries. All of the successful hatchlings are released in the same area their mother was found.

The threats to turtles in urban environments are steep. Issues such as habitat loss, water contamination, accelerated predation from urbanized species such as raccoons and foxes, and road mortality are decimating turtle populations. Of all the threats, road mortality seems to be the most dominant in urban areas.

The problem is that most turtles hit on the road are females who are preparing to lay eggs. Less than 1 per cent of turtle eggs laid will make it to adulthood. When egg laying is compromised it puts the future of turtles in a tough spot. Turtles take quite awhile to mature. It can take eight to 25 years for a turtle to start producing eggs. While many species of wildlife are hit on the road, most species have young born from the previous year to contribute to the population. Many turtles that are hit have not yet been successful in producing young to replace themselves.

Habitat loss is also a major concern for turtles. As wetlands are being altered or lost, turtles have nowhere to go. Most species spend a majority of their lives in water, only coming onto land to nest.

What most people don’t understand is that turtles have a significant ecological role to play in the environment. Turtles help maintain the health of aquatic systems. They eat vegetation which helps minimize the amount of decomposing plant matter in our water systems. They also help keep insect populations in check. Turtles are an important food source to some species of fish, birds and mammals.

With the number of turtles declining and predation occurring more frequently in urban areas, populations are not coping well with the increase of negative impacts. Turtles have been around for more than 245 million years but now, due to human influence, most species of turtles are considered to be “species at risk.” Turtles are an important indicator species, which means if you find a turtle, the habitat it is living in is likely to be considerably healthy.

There are several ways in which we can minimize our impact on turtle populations. Preventing pets from disturbing nesting sites will give hatchlings a better chance at survival. More importantly by slowing down on roads with “turtle traffic” or helping turtles safely cross the road, injuries and mortality can be significantly reduced.

Education is the most important part of turtle sustainability and that is just what the KTTC is doing. Hosting outreach events and raising awareness is part of its mandate.

“With seven of the eight species of Ontario’s turtles now listed as “species at risk,” we are working to increase public awareness about the plight of Ontario’s turtles. Public education can reduce road mortalities while increasing conservation and stewardship efforts. We need a future where our grandchildren can enjoy the sight of a turtle basking in the sunshine”, says Kate Siena, volunteer co-ordinator of the KTTC.

Turtles are worth our time. It is time to give turtles a “brake.”

About the Author: Rochelle Archibald is a third-year Ecosystem Management student at Fleming College in Lindsay. She has been volunteering at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre since September. Her guest column has been featured on mykawartha.com.

In the report, the ECO recommends that “MNR ensure that government response statements clearly articulate the actions that the Ontario government will and will not take to protect and recover species at risk.

In a story published in the Toronto Sun, Miller suggests that the Ministry of Natural Resources recognize (or even fund!) non-government organizations that undertake recovery actions for species at risk in the province. Read the full story on the Toronto Sun’s Website: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/11/saving-injured-turtles

The report also criticized the MNR for denying an application to the Environmental Commissioner’s Office to review the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 to de-list snapping turtles as a “game reptile.” The Ministry denied the request because they intend to develop a management plan for the snapping turtle by September 2014, as required for species list as Special Concern under the Endangered Species Act . The ECO recommends that “MNR impose a moratorium or ban on the hunting of snapping turtles, at least until after this issue has been properly examined with full public consultation”.

The issue has been taken up by a group calling themselves the “Friends of the Snapping Turtles of Ontario” or FROST for short. A petition calling on the province of Ontario to remove the snapping turtle from the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act hunted species list is available for on the Ontario Nature website. If you would like to add your name to the petition you can print and sign it, and mail the petition to the address found at the bottom of the form.

Be sure to read the ECO’s full annual report for more recommendations on protecting species at risk as well as other current environmental issues: http://www.eco.on.ca/uploads/Reports-Annual/2010_11/Final-English-Bookmarked-2010-AR.pdf