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Happy Earth Day from all of us at The Land Between and Turtle Guardians!
We rely on the earth for our wellbeing in so many ways, and these services, provided by nature, are irreplaceable. Examples include pollination for our food supplies (Did you know that many insects including mosquitoes are pollinators, and so are bats and some birds). Also, medicines, foods and products come from the earth; from aspirins, fungi to treat cancer; nuts, beans, roots, sugars; to wood, soil, and even sand for concrete. Also trees filter the air and offer shade to cool waters and homes alike; aquatic plants filter water and are homes for zooplankton, and fish...and on. The species that contribute, and their interrelationships are an endless intricate web. Turtles too, are essential to our wellbeing; they consume proteins when young, scouring lakes and wetlands for carcasses and helping to keep waters free of pathogens, and when older they consume mostly seeds and vegetation, spreading biodiversity as they tour their territories. But in addition to these tangible services, nature provides a source of spiritual respite and sanctuary, healing, instruction and also inspiration. Let's work together in 2021 to connect to and care for nature- together.
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Birding is like treasure hunting...it is exciting and awe-inspiring. Getting to know the birds in your backyard can tell you a lot about what is happening with the weather, who is nearby and in the neighbourhood, and also what is happening in the habitat; is the sap running; are the fish spawning and more. Watching birds is like reading nature's news. We have been working hard to create tools and bring you opportunities to learn the language of birds.
We are pleased to offer workshops to support your entry into birding. Learn how to identify all the birds in your backyard in The Land Between with Xavier Tuson, our senior Conservation Technician. Workshops are live, on zoom, and with tailored instruction and time for questions and answers too.
Workshops are held every Tuesday and Thursday. And, although the workshops started in April, there are more coming through to May!
Remaining workshop dates and themes are as follows:
- April 22 6:30-7:30 Shorebirds
- April 27 6:30-7:30 Birds of Prey
- April 29 6:30-7:30 Thick-billed birds (corvids, woodpeckers…)
- Tuesday May 4th 6:30-7:30 Insectivores (Cuckoos, Shrikes, Vireos…)
- May 6th 6:30-7:30 Songbirds (chickadees, titmice….)
- May 11th 6:30-7:30 Large Songbirds (mocking birds, thrushes…)
- May 13th 6:30-7:30 Finches
- May 18th 6:30-7:30 Warblers!!!
Workshops are free, but donations are appreciated and will help us raise funds for our Motus bird monitoring programs, which will help track bird migration and advance habitat conservation across this flyway!
To join a workshop follow this link
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Turtles Are on Roads at Least 3 Weeks Early This Year
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It is that time again...but this time, the dates are earlier!
Our volunteers spotted the first snapping turtles of the season on April 7th in Peterborough. This account was at least 3 weeks earlier than any other sighting on our records over 15 years. The unprecedented warm days also resulted in early ice-outs, the arrival of flycatchers, hatching out of mosquitoes (pollinators), and other odd wildlife events. But for turtles, this means that they are exposed to the threat of road injury for longer periods as they are active during the shoulder seasons in spring and fall.
Turtles are super-agents of biodiversity, helping to remove pathogens from water supplies and spreading seeds to grow new fish and wildlife habitats. Their work to support our wellbeing cannot be reproduced by anyone or anything, and yet they are extremely vulnerable as it takes an average of 60 years for one turtle to be replaced in nature.
Therefore watch 4 turtles on roads - April to October.
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Seeking Volunteers to Monitor High Mortality Sites for Turtles...
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We are seeking Road Researchers to help Turtles in key mortality sites.
We provide online training and tools. Road Researchers travel dedicated routes each week to record sightings of turtles and help those in need. Volunteers can bike, drive or walk these routes. This activity is considered part of an essential service during the current Covid lockdown, and is part of our ongoing research programs for wildlife recovery.
Find out more or register here
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Comparing Municipal Policy Levers to Protect Biodiversity in The Land Between
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A recent project led by Samantha Dunlop (with Ulinks, Trent University and in partnership with The Land Between charity), explored the various policies that upper and lower tier municipalities have to support or protect biodiversity; Policies that deal with shorelands, set backs, lighting, green spaces, noise and others.
In this project, the municipalities in the west half of the region of City of Muskoka, Haliburton, Peterborough, and Hastings were researched and planners were also surveyed to explore issues related to biodiversity protection.
The project is the first phase for a longer program that The Land Between and in partnership with Watersheds Canada is launching, titled Planning for Our Shorelands. This research revealed some surprising results, where Muskoka, with the largest development footprint, has most comprehensive policy levers when compared to other areas. This result is perhaps the outcome of the capacity of the municipality itself, or because of their tenure in dealing with development at higher scales- or both. The summaries and report is not only interesting in revealing trends, but it will help the Land Between and partners at Watersheds Canada, direct efforts in providing resources, education, and supports to fill gaps in the region. The resources will also serve to guide landowners, giving them tools that they may not have known existed in their communities, or to examples to follow to support their own conservation efforts.
To read the full report follow this link.
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Growing the Greenbelt in Ontario?
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Ontario's Greenbelt boundary currently sits just south of The Land Between bioregion, and many of the Land Between's seasonal residents call the Greenbelt home during a majority of the year. Therefore, we are happy to present this news brief provided by our partners at Ontario Headwaters Institute (OHI).
The OHI, headed up by Andrew McCammon, has just completed a round table of consultations on the need and potential to grow the Greenbelt.
The OHI held webinars for the past three weeks reaching 300 participants. Key common issues are described below, followed (in the full submission) by a detailed description of each webinar.
Support to Expand the Greenbelt - Widespread support to expand the Greenbelt included the following:
- A strong desire to expand the Greenbelt. While all participants saw the original components of what has become the Greenbelt as being both needed and innovative when they were introduced and evolved, the area of protected lands in South-central Ontario is no longer adequate given the cumulative impact of Ontario’s growing population and development, augmented by climate change. Expansion is required to protect natural heritage and biodiversity; water quality, quantity, and temperature, and; regional agriculture – as well as to reduce leap-frog development.
- Unanimous support to expand the Greenbelt to include the Paris-Galt Moraine and to add Urban River Valleys. Participants supported not only the Paris-Galt but also other moraines and the numerous URVs cited in our submission. Participants also supported the need to increase the educational profile of URVs as part of the regional eco-system by including their headwaters in outreach material and the need for in-person, post-pandemic meetings to address specific boundaries, as well as to engage Indigenous Peoples;
- Virtually unanimous support to expand the Greenbelt into the GGH, particularly to include the Natural Heritage System, the Bluebelt, the Moraines of the STORM report, and the agricultural system. Indeed, the only voices of caution in this regard were to ensure that areas with currently greater local protection than that afforded under the Greenbelt should not lose that protection due to provincial actions.
Apprehension about the Government’s Environmental Intentions
Years of out-of-balance, pro-development policies under “Open for Business” and the Housing Action Plan have shaken public trust in the government’s commitment to environmental protection. It has not helped that many changes were implemented in an absence of public consultation, including in omnibus bills under cloture, and that numerous rights of appeal have been lost, raising apprehension about the government’s commitment to democratic and judicial norms. We heard the following:
- The focus on the size of the Greenbelt neglects a needed discussion about the efficacy of Greenbelt policies, the availability of monitoring and performance data, the stability of the agricultural system, governance, and a host of aligned issues such as putting highways through the Greenbelt and sewage effluent into its receiving waters. A consultation on size alone is a missed opportunity;
- The 60-day consultation period was too short and should have included a stipulation that municipalities wishing to make a submission be required to engage their residents; and,
- Overlapping the two bullets above, municipal comments appear to be de facto policy submissions. While we support applying municipal or provincial polices with the higher degree of protection, municipal growth is the number one driver of reduced natural heritage and agricultural lands, and arguing for a status quo of unsustainable planning to accommodate low-density sprawl over a vision for regional resilience is an accidentally biased effort that violates the boundaries of this consultation.
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Saving Grace in Haliburton
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Grace, is an ancient snapping turtle, whose hibernation site is near the Haliburton Highlands Secondary School and feeding grounds extend across 2 lakes at over 40km radius and across busy roads including Highway 118 in Haliburton County.
Grace is likely over 125 years old judging by her carapace (upper shell) size, and could be as old as 200 years according to scientific studies (Armstrong and Brooks). She is the largest turtle we, at Turtle Guardians, have had the honour of meeting in the county. She is 39cm, which is very close to the record size found in this area of Ontario that we know of at 42cm.
Grace is not only notable because of her size, but she is missing her right eye. Grace is named for the absolute miracle of her longevity and existence without significant injury or death in this busy area of roads and boats.
We first encountered and rescued Grace in the late summer and early fall of 2020. First Grace was sitting just by a main road in front of the Highschool. She was found by a champion volunteer named Jack (pictures above). She was also situated right in front of many school buses, which were all lined up behind her, readying to take students back home. Therefore, the school called us to "move her". And it took two of us to oblige. We moved her in the direction she was facing, and took her about carefully about 700 metres to Kashagawigamog Lake. We believed she may be hibernating in that area. She did not seem to desire to get into the water, but this lake was certainly within her territory, and it was a safer place for her to be.
However, the following week we received a call in the evening from someone who had spotted her while walking their two large dogs. This time Grace was in front of the elementary school facing the opposite direction from the previous week. Well, we were obviously mistaken about her chosen hibernation site being the lake. In order to move her, we commissioned a wheel barrow because Grace is very heavy. We wheeled her across the driveway and parking lot to the closest wetland - a small pocket wetland about 200 metres from her current location, and voila, she seemed at once comfortable and eager to get into the water there. Turtles hibernate in waters that are stable; in other words, where water levels will not fluctuate. They also hibernate within 1 metre of where they hibernated in previous years.
 The onset of warm weather reminded us of Grace- that she might also emerge early and be found on the roads. Therefore, we urgently put out a Facebook post to alert community members in Haliburton about Grace, including a note about what to do if she was spotted (take a picture, text us and to simply "coach her" in the direction she is headed instead of trying to lift her, because she is very heavy, and certainly should never be lifted by the tail).
We have been so amazed as the post has reached 61830 views and has been shared 890 times. and including by the Canadian Environmental Law Society!
While we are pleased because all the attention brings hope that people will watch out for Grace so that she can continue to live well amongst us for at least another fifty years, Grace is not the only turtle needing both our vigilance and kindness- and she is also not the only older turtle around. In fact, since the Facebook post just last week, we have received reports of two other massive snapping turtles in Haliburton county, and one which would measure larger than Grace and therefore be her senior. And we want to help Grace and all turtles across the region survive. Therefore we have launched new programs and efforts; we have identified key high mortality sites where turtles need our help. At these sites we will be installing temporary silt fencing to "slow turtles reaching roads" and at the same time staffing the sites with amazing volunteers who will help both record sightings and help these shelled friends cross the roads. The data collected will help us assess mitigation measures such as turtle tunnels, the need for speed bumps, and signs, as well as other options. Both Haliburton County and Peterborough County road departments are also onside, and have issued us road occupancy permits. And in Peterborough, Parks Canada is partnering with us to facilitate these research and rescue efforts.
Now we are trying to raise funds to pay for high visibility vests, signage to bookend key sites and keep drivers, volunteers and turtles safe, and for silt fencing. We have launched a GoFundMe Campaign to support these efforts, which has been inspired by Grace, and is entitled Saving Grace. Please consider supporting our efforts by donating: gf.me/u/zqj6zp
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Love (and Life) Will Find a Way
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We had a very unexpected surprise this past week. Timothy our resident male snapping turtle is "caged" in his tank, because, despite being physically challenged since his car accident and unable to use his back legs, Timmy likes to climb. He uses his tail as a third leg. When we came in to check on Timothy, however, he was conspicuously missing from his tank and his cage was twisted and hanging in the water.
When we looked next door, in Jeremiah's tank (his female neighbor who is unable to use her back legs or her tail), well we were surprised to find Timmy happily on top of Jer...looking up and looking ever so innocent. Right away, we checked the surveillance footage and low and behold....
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Timothy's Romance- captured on camera
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Public Meeting to be Held Regarding Centre Lake Development
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Centre lake is encircled by a 200 foot Crown Land Reserve that embraces a dynamic and rich lacustrine wetland ecosystem. In 2020, the municipality of Highlands East passed a motion to help push forward the development of this shoreland in favour of economic development. The proposal has been a sore spot for many people in the county because the lake is one of the few remaining in the area that is still untouched. Before the Ministry of Natural Resources conducts their public consultation, the municipality is seeking input and discussion with the public on the matter. A public meeting (virtual) will be held on Tuesday April 27 at 9am. To register or link to the meeting and to find out more follow this link
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Turtley Cool Curriculums...
and Just in Time
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Look what we created at the Turtle Guardians Headquarters, just for you...and just in time too! Now you can access, teach and learn with Turtle Guardians turtley cool curricula for all elementary grades.
The lessons are in math, science, language, arts, and even mental health. Each lesson plan has downloadable worksheets and clear instructions too. And all lesson plans meet Ontario school learning expectations. We also created companion videos and a homework sharing app.
We want to connect kids with nature and provide them with applied real world learning experiences- and so we have designed these tools for you, for free! Check out these resources here: https://www.turtleguardians.com/school-curriculums/
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Turtle Survivors- Leo, the Blanding's
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Post by Leora Berman
I had the privilege of helping out with the re-setting of this turtle's shell at
Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary this weekend. This Blanding's turtle came in, and was in very rough shape (Warning - the before picture is quite graphic).
However, Monica, at the sanctuary, has magic hands, and while I held the turtle, she put all the puzzle pieces together, giving this very old and rare creature, much needed relief. We named him Leo, for his bravery, because the whole process took 2 hours and he felt the pain, despite receiving medication. We expect Leo to make a full recovery which will take up to a year at the sanctuary before he can be released in nature at the location he was found.
Turtles are remarkable. You may be surprised what injuries they can come back from. In fact, their hearts beat for days after their brains have shut down. They can also survive a very long time without food or water. They are so vulnerable and yet so resilient. And, these creatures are vital to our ecosystems and wellbeing, as agents of biodiversity and water quality.
Therefore, if you find an injured turtle, whether it has a mild injury or an extreme one, do not leave the turtle to suffer. Instead, take note of the location (so it can be returned to its territory), keep it in a dry container with lots of oxygen, do not feed it, and call your nearest wildlife rehabilitation centre, or the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre at 705-741-5000 where there are teams of volunteers that will help to transport the turtle to this "turtle hospital."
Below are pictures of Leora, Monica, Leo before and during his "surgery". Leo's lower eyelids closed after being exhausted by the process.
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HOW TO SHARE TURTLE SIGHTINGS
If you spot a turtle, you can help scientists and conservationists estimate where to put turtle underpasses and fencing and also help ongoing research related to turtle population health in Ontario- by submitting your sighting to our new project on iNaturalist. Simply take a picture of the turtle, and when you are near the turtle upload it to the platform - it will geolocate the position of the turtle, and then biologists will confirm the species for you. That way we, at Turtle Guardians, will know when and where turtles are moving and where they need help. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/turtle-guardians-turtle-sightings
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