David Seburn’s zoom presentation on freshwater turtles inspired many of us to keep an eye out for turtles crossing the road and give them a hand if it is safe to do so.
MVFN would also like to help his Eastern Ontario Turtle Project. The intrusion of COVID-19 means that a whole field season may be lost. We have therefore started another Lanark County wildlife project on iNaturalist called “Lanark County Turtle Watch”.
We are looking for photos of turtles. Turtles crossing the road, turtles nesting or turtles sunning themselves on a log or a rock. And, sadly we would also ask you to include photographs of turtles that did not make it across the road. All photos provide helpful information.
While you are out and about please watch for turtles and keep your phone or camera handy. By photographing turtles and uploading the images to the project “Lanark County Turtle Watch”, you provide important data on the location and population of turtles.
To participate:
1. Open an account on iNaturalist. Open
2. Join the MVFN Lanark County Turtle Watch project. Join
3. Start posting turtle observations in Lanark County. iNaturalist will guide you through entering the requisite data including location, type of roadway observation and nesting activity.
You can find a guide to using the MVFN Turtle Watch interface here: Guide
If you need help, use the following email conservation@mvfn.ca
Please call the Ontario Turtle Centre at 705-741-5000 immediately if you come across an injured turtle.
