Road shoulders are very attractive nesting sites for turtles because they have the perfect mixture of sand/gravel for turtles to lay eggs while also providing excellent sun exposure. This, in combination with the fact that turtles have territories with multiple habitat sites that are kilometers large, means that turtles (in particular blanding's, snapping and painted turtles) frequently cross roads between May and October. All roads are extremely hazardous obstacles for our slow-moving friends with road strikes being a major factor in province wide reductions in turtle populations!
To mitigate these effects, staff at The Land Between have been toiling all summer to build turtle underpass fencing by converting recycled steel food grade barrels into the physical barriers needed for our pilot project. These barrels are just high enough to prevent snapping turtles (great climbers) from scaling the barrier, and the arch shape also helps deter climbing. The half-pipe barrels will be tied to standard fencing on either side which bounds the wetland- and together the fencing ensures that turtles are safely directed through exiting culverts under the roadways.
The best thing about these barrels is that they form a type of "jump-out", because they are back-filled with the earth, to be flush with the roadway, so that the entire underpass system does not trap wildlife on roads. If turkeys, turtles, and even snakes wonder onto the road in this area, they are able to get off the road where the barrels are placed as convenient "jump outs".
Our turtle underpass fencing has been installed in one of many high mortality turtle sites. Turtles use the same pathways year after year and cannot readily adjust to new territories or areas. Therefore we cannot simply "relocate" turtles. Also, turtles need to cross to parts of their territory that they revisit habitually and annually. For instance turtles will hibernate within 1 metre of where they did the year before, and these annual resting sites are different from their feeding, nesting and mating sites. Turtle Guardians have mapped over 1000 potential underpass sites in the Land Between region alone. If this model works, it will be an inexpensive and effective solution to transfer to other areas.
This year, this pilot is being undertaken as part of the Community Nominated Priority Places Program of Environment Canada and Climate Change, and in partnership with Eastern Georgian Bay Initiative, and Eco-Kare International (experts at wildlife road mortality mitigation).
Very exciting times!
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2022 Turtle Guardians
Calendar is here!
This year's theme... MOVIES!
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It is that time of the year again...Turtle Guardian calendar time!
This year's theme is Blockbuster movies. See our turtley cool cast starring in great movies: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Jumangi and more...
You can order yours for only $20.00.
The calendar features all of our famous teaching turtles!
All proceeds from sales support: Turtle tunnel installations, kid's Turtle Camp, volunteer training, purchasing turtle crossing signs and billboards, turtle egg incubation and release programs, nest protection and turtle population research.
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Can you help? Do you know a store that would be interested in selling our calendars? Help us reach them by sending or distributing our flyer!
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Why should I embrace my leafy lawn?
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Autumn means beautiful displays of vibrant colours, a cool breeze gently kissing your cheek and leaves blowing around your property. It is a time of seed caching for rodents, travels to hibernation sites for turtles, mushrooms fruiting, and joyfully wearing a warm sweater. Autumn is also a time of survival preparation as species search for and carefully choose locations that will provide them with the vital shelter needed to protect themselves from harsh winter temperatures. Some such locations, like fallen leaves and other dead plant matter (remaining wildflower stalks, etc), are often overlooked by humans yet are irreplaceable in their importance in natural cycles and the protection they provide to animals.
Numerous species of animals, including salamanders, bees, moths, and butterflies, overwinter tucked away from bitter temperatures under the effective insulation of leaves or the walled protection of plant stems. However, the safety of their winter hideaways become threatened when people decide rake leaves or cut off flower stalks and remove them from their properties. Unfortunately, this results in the death of many of our pollinator friends and the removal of precious nutrients from ecosystems! Below are some of the topics that are addressed in our page:
- Leave the leaves
- Mulching
- Is removing leaves that have fallen in the water bad?
- When is it okay to remove leaves?
- When should I cut down dead plant and flower stocks?
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As a charity, The Land Between works to protect and conserve Ontario's Highlands through Grassroots research, projects, and community partnerships. We are able to provide pioneering information to the public, invaluable services for landowners, and programs and education for kids and communities, all thanks to discrete grants and community donations!
Help us continue our important work and to grow donating this Giving Tuesday.
Giving Tuesday is an international generosity movement which takes place after Black Friday. This movement aims to bring charitable organizations to people's and main stream media's attention so that all wonderful work charities around the world are conducting can be seen. Learn more about the Giving Tuesday movement there.
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Our Shoreland Naturalization Program Review 2021
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With the support of TD Friends of the Environment Foundation in 2021, The Land Between charity and partners, including Watersheds Canada and Botanigals Ecological Consulting, were able to develop tools to support landowners in designing customized native shoreland gardens that are esthetically-pleasing, functional and support lake health for future generations. We have created a Shoreland Gardens Design Guidebook, installed a demonstration site at our office in Haliburton, ran four online workshops, and assisted nine landowners by creating custom plans and then supporting them in planting shoreland gardens. Thank you to everyone who helped support this great work!
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Treaty Recognition Week
November 1st-7th
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Did you know that this month included an important week for Canadians? Treaty week is a time to learn about the agreements that formed this country and to recognize that we are all Treaty People who share the amazing privilege of living in this part of North America. The foundation of Canada was enabled because of the generous spirit of Indigenous peoples who had forged essential agreements with first settlers to allow for sharing of the land "as deep as the plough". The Original Treaties that formed Canada were formed with a spirit of kindness as Indigenous Nations accepted settlers as kindred relatives. These treaties were captured in what is known as wampum belts, and their spirit were intended to be encompassed in the written laws of Canada. Therefore their understanding is evident in the British North America Act and the Constitution through the Rights and Title of Aboriginal Peoples and the Duty to Consult.
The Treaties are our collective heritage to be understood, honoured and practiced.
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Get to Know Your Neighbours
Connecting With The Wildlife In Our Backyards
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As the early dawn breaks it’s first light through your window and you wake to the sounds of birds who have already gotten a head start on their day, a wave of daily tasks and issues rush into your mind. Do you hear the birds? Who is greeting you this morning? To know the bird outside your window is a privilege we often take for granted. The general disconnection between people and their local ecosystems has allowed many of these species to quietly disappear unnoticed, but with huge consequence. With no understanding of their value, or presence, it is easy to build our world over-top of the lives of others without understanding our contribution to the damage of ecosystems and biodiversity. Every animal can teach us a lesson about enjoying the present, as well as our place in an incredibly intricate and delicate ecosystem in which we most assuredly play a role every day. To watch a Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) dance in the pollen from your garden unites us to the soil, roots, flowers, insects, birds, larger mammals and ultimately ourselves
Who is your neighbour? What is their name? This is the most basic, fundamental part of getting to know someone. Knowing their name is to recognize their existence as an individual
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10 Year Later and No Geese!
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Thanks to our COO, Leora Berman, Head Lake Park and surrounding walking trails and public spaces are free of geese.
In 2010 Leora designed an effective planting scheme and accessed a grant from Cottage Life Magazine in order to remedy the shorelands in Haliburton's downtown village park and deter geese from nesting, foraging and generally mucky-ing up the area. Goose are tundra species that gravitate to "terraformed" shores that have limited to no biodiversity. They then drop 1lb of guano per goose per day, which is a source of pathogens and nitrates that can harm water quality. Leora, with the support of the township and 40 amazing volunteers from the Rotary Club and other groups, planted the downtown shore to remove sight lines for geese. The township with this inertia, also stopped cutting all vegetation at the shore. The typical 140 geese at that time, is now a big "zero" in these parks. Thank you Leora for your dedication to nature and your community. Thanks too, to all the great partners and volunteers for great support and many hands. The result has been a goose-poop free zone with more biodiversity and utility for the community.
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Previous structure and issues at Head Lake Park in Haliburton saw over 150 geese annually in the park.
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Great volunteers planting the shore
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An amazing community effort
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Barbara is the Executive Director of Watersheds Canada, a Canadian non-profit organization and charity that works with communities to help "shoreline owners enhance and protect the health of lakes and rivers". Over the last 19 years with Watersheds Canada, Barbara has worked in various roles to help build the organization which is now delivering programs with grassroots partners Canada-wide.
Barbara's connection with water and the environment was established at a young age when she spent weekends and summers at her family cottage. However, her deep appreciation for and awareness of nature was ignited when she moved away from the water to go to post-secondary school. While pursuing an education in hospitality, Barbara found herself longing to be back in nature and decided to switch her studies to the environmental and non-profit sector. Following her realized passion, she made a career out of advocating for the environment, progressing freshwater conservation and working with the public to develop impactful environmentally conscious shoreline management best practices.
Barbara gains inspiration and hope from working with community members and partners and listening to their stories. For example, there is a couple on White Lake in Ottawa who has done extensive volunteer work with Watersheds Canada to protect not only their lake, but lakes across Canada! Invigorated by the dedication that many people have (or can develop) for the environment, Barbara endeavours to support as many lake advocates and concerned citizens as she can while also providing opportunities for everyone (herself included) to learn together! In particular, she is working to engage people across the country in knowledge sharing and best practices in shoreland management so that more people understand the critical importance of shoreline vegetation and water quality. She hopes this kind of work, and developing these relationships, will help to bridge the gap between what many of us say we value (like caring for wildlife) and how we actually behave (are we creating or destroying the habitat for the wildlife we claim to love?)
In the future, Barbara hopes that more people will value the environment for nature's sake, rather than just for other aspects of it (like real estate value). She also hopes that more attention will be given to the scientific link between spending time in nature and enhanced mental and physical well being. Barbara ardently works everyday to make these wishes a reality so that future generations can have the experiences in nature that changed her life, experiences in a land of healthy lakes, ecosystems and wildlife.
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How can you help support us?
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