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Written by Sydney Shepherd

I was not a turtle person… no, seriously. Prior to my involvement this summer with the Land Between and Turtle Guardians, my friends and family referred to me as the “Bird Girl”. Everything and anything I did revolved around birds. School projects, volunteering and spare time were all dedicated to birds – oh, and not to mention how often I wiggled fun facts and bird ID into my everyday conversations.

Becoming a bird person was easy.

Bird songs have been the soundtrack to my summers. Listening to bird songs now, I am connected to previous time and place. The elusive namesake sound of Eastern Whip-poor-wills and the unmistakable “who-cooks-for-you” hoot of the Barred Owl bring me back to starry nights camping on Georgian Bay. The abrupt morning squabble of Blue Jays never fails to connect me to groggy-eyed wake-ups in a sweaty nylon tent. This intrinsic connection to birds took over once I reached University and was able to pursue my own passions in academia.

But becoming a turtle person, was hard.

I do not have any childhood stories of turtles to share. I honestly cannot even remember a time that I might have interacted with a turtle in the wild until my later years. Without past connection with turtles, I simply brushed off their importance.

I am so grateful I was welcomed to the Road Research Team with Turtle Guardians. As a recent University Grad, I was ready to get out into the world and experience new things, even if those things were outside of my “bird niche”. Within the first few minutes of my first Road Research shift, I finally gained my turtle connection. Xavier, my team mate for the summer, and I came across a couple who were helping a turtle safely cross at a busy four-way intersection. As we approached the couple, thanking them for being a Turtle Hero, and taking the turtle from them to collect valuable scientific data (https://www.thelandbetween.ca/2020/06/tlb-gathers-2000-turtle-eggs-to-incubate/), I was able to see a Blanding’s Turtle up close. Her bright yellow throat, and almost upturned mouth made me feel the same way I do when I look at Golden Retriever Puppies. I then thought about how vulnerable that turtle was, crossing a four-way intersection with loud and large vehicles passing by. I knew, in that moment, I was becoming a turtle person.

The term “charismatic” can be used to sum up the connection experience (Skibins et al. 2013). Individuals are more likely to care about the conservation of species when we can empathize with their emotions (Skibins et al. 2013). Often, these “charismatic” species we empathize with are large mammals such as the Giant Panda, African Elephants and colourful birds (Skibins et al. 2013). In my experience, freshwater turtles have never been at the forefront of my mind as a charismatic species, but, the moment that Blanding’s Turtle was crossing that four-way intersection, I empathized with her. She became charismatic in my mind, and I hope that everyone has their connection moment with an Ontario Turtle!

If you are interested in connecting your family to turtles check out the Turtle Guardians Program Levels and become Wetland Watchers today!

 

References:

Skibins, Jeffrey C., et al. “Charisma and Conservation: Charismatic Megafauna’s Influence on Safari and Zoo Tourists’ pro-Conservation Behaviors.” Biodiversity and Conservation, vol. 22, no. 4, 2013, pp. 959–982., doi:10.1007/s10531-013-0462-z.

 

 

If you are familiar with turtles and practiced in the art of helping them across roads, you are probably aware that turtle conservation groups and experts urge rescuers to move turtles across the road in the direction they are facing when found. Why is this? When you find a turtle crossing a road coming from a lush wetland, heading towards a dry rocky outcrop, doesn’t it make the most sense to turn it around and place it back in the wetland? Even though your natural instincts might tell you to turn a travelling turtle around and put them in a more

“turtle-friendly” habitat, this will actually result in the turtle having to cross the road again when they inevitably turn around to head back the way they were going. To understand why turtles will turn back around if you take them off course, you need to know how turtles navigate.

Turtles are excellent navigators within the areas they are familiar with, ie. their “home ranges.” These home ranges include their yearly nesting site (if female), their overwintering grounds, and the wetlands they frequent during their active season. In the early years of their lives turtles will create ‘mental maps’ of their home areas, and it appears that as turtles age they lose this ability to create new mental maps (Caldwell and Nams 2006). Adult turtles tend to rely on their internal compass to navigate through their home range that they know well, and have previously ‘mapped’ (Caldwell and Nams 2006).

There is scientific research that suggests a turtle’s internal compass could be one of two things, or possibly even a combination of both. Turtles could be using the position of the sun in the sky to navigate, or possibly they are able to sense the earth’s magnetic fields; both of these methods would help them know where north is. Scientists have confirmed some Sea Turtle species have magnetite in their brains which allows the animals to sense magnetic fields (Fuentes, et al. 2004). In the case of Ontario freshwater turtle species such as Blanding’s Turtles and Snapping Turtles, researchers have found evidence for both the sun and the magnetic field compass mechanisms (Pappas et al. 2013, Landler et al. 2015, Krentz et al. 2018). More research is needed to determine if both methods are being used by freshwater turtles here, or if some species are using only one.

So what do turtles’ mental maps and internal compasses have to do with always making sure to help them across roads in the direction they are facing? Well, everything! Because turtles are such good navigators, when you find them crossing a road, they are heading some where specific – don’t think for a second they are just wandering or confused!! They know where they are going – even if they are heading somewhere that seems to you like poor turtle habitat.

Ontario turtles are capable of long distance travel over land, and some individuals have very large home ranges with nesting sites far from the wetlands they use during the summer months, which can be separate and further still from the wetland they might use for their overwintering (Pettit et al. 1995, Brown and Brooks 2004). For example, Snapping Turtles in Algonquin Park have been found to travel up to 3.9 km between August and late September when they head back to their overwintering grounds, and can return within 1 m of the exact spot they hibernated the year before (Brown and Brooks 2004). What amazing proof of these superb navigators in action! This helps put into perspective the turtle you might find heading into a forest away from a perfectly good wetland – this turtle could be travelling to another wetland you can’t see via this forest, or potentially their nesting site is a sandy bank along a small creek on the other side of the forest. Who knows? We don’t, but the turtle definitely does.

An important implication of turtles making mental maps of their home ranges when they are young and using their using internal compasses to navigate after this, is that if an adult turtle is relocated far outside their home range it can be very disorienting and stressful. A study done in Nova Scotia with Eastern Painted Turtles (which are closely related to the subspecies of Painted we find here in Ontario - Midland and Western), found that 60 adult turtles removed from their home ranges did not successfully navigate towards water when released in new habitat (Caldwell and Nams 2006). Instead, they travelled in a straight line in one consistent direction after being released until being recaptured at the end of the 24-hour study period. This suggests that when adult freshwater turtles are relocated to a new habitat outside of their home range, they may not be able to imprint on this new area as they did when they were younger with their home range. The adult turtles in this study seemed to follow an internal compass, but without a mental map of the unfamiliar area, they just travelled in one single direction without any way to navigate towards water.

The only exception to the rule of always helping a turtle across the road in the direction they are travelling, is if you are lucky enough to find a hatchling (a.k.a. brand new baby turtle). Ontario turtle hatchlings are usually no bigger than a toonie, and when they first emerge from their nests they will not have a mental map of their surroundings, although their internal compass mechanisms will activate within hours of emerging from the nest (Pappas et al. 2013). Their instincts will guide them to head towards an open horizon, which will hopefully lead them to water (Krenz et al. 2018). So in this one special case, if you find a hatchling on a road or road shoulder, because they do not have a mental map of their surroundings yet, the best spot to move them is actually the closest shallow water body. This water body should ideally have slow moving water (or no flow at all) and lots of aquatic vegetation where they can hide from predators and find things to eat. This could be a flooded road ditch, a small pond, or a grassy bank of a near by marsh. It is important to note that we still don’t want to relocate a hatchling far from where we found it, do not move a hatchling more than 250 m. If you can not see any water within this distance from where you found it, move the hatchling safely far off the road and road shoulder in the direction they were travelling. It is even more important to note that we don’t want you to take the hatchling home. Without the first years spent in nature, the mental map will not be made and the turtle will be lost for all time to navigating the wild. Meanwhile, we are losing too many turtles to road traffic, pet trades, and habitat loss. So, watch out for hatchlings (and adults too) at the end of August and through September (for Snappers and Blanding’s) and when many Painted Turtle hatchlings emerge at the end of May / beginning of June.

 

Written by Meredith Karcz, Conservation Technician

Download this article: turtles know where they are going. M. Karcz

 

 

References

Brown, G.P., and R.J. Brooks. 1994. Characteristics of and fidelity to hibernacula in a northern population of Snapping Turtles, Chelydra serpentina. Copeia 1994(1): 222-226.

Caldwell, I. R., & Nams, V. O. (2006). A compass without a map: tortuosity and orientation of eastern painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) released in unfamiliar territory. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 84(8), 1129-1137.

Fuentes, A., Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J., Garduño, V., Sanchez, J., & Rizzi, A. (2004). Magnetite in Black Sea Turtles (Chelonia agassizi). AGUFM, 2004, B21B-0884.

Krenz, J. D., Congdon, J. D., Schlenner, M. A., Pappas, M. J., & Brecke, B. J. (2018). Use of sun compass orientation during natal dispersal in Blanding’s turtles: in situ field experiments with clock-shifting and disruption of magnetoreception. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 72(11), 177.

Landler, L., Painter, M. S., Youmans, P. W., Hopkins, W. A., & Phillips, J. B. (2015). Spontaneous magnetic alignment by yearling snapping turtles: rapid association of radio frequency dependent pattern of magnetic input with novel surroundings. PLoS One, 10(5), e0124728.

Pappas, M. J., Congdon, J. D., Brecke, B. J., & Freedberg, S. (2013). Orientation of freshwater hatchling Blanding's (Emydoidea blandingii) and snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) dispersing from experimental nests in agricultural fields. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 8(2), 385-399.

Pettit, K.E., C.A. Bishop, and R.J. Brooks. 1995. Home range and movements of the common Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, in a coastal wetland of Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario, Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 109(2): 192- 200.

Its mid June in the Land Between. The evening temperature is pleasant, and I might even say I was comfortable sitting in this lawn chair on the side of the highway, if it weren’t for the bugs! Black-flies and mosquitoes swarm my head and unprotected arms. I pull on my trusty bug jacket and settle back into my seat. I’m watching a show that many people have not had the pleasure of seeing; a Blanding’s Turtle is laying her nest. I’m watching her from the other side of the road through my binoculars, ensuring her safety. This is a vulnerable time for her and I am protecting her from oncoming cars. A study in Southern Ontario showed that approximately 2.7% of cars will intentionally aim for reptiles on the road (Ashley et al. 2007). I won’t let that happen to this momma! She rocks slowly back and forth as she works to dig a hole. She has been working for about an hour now. I wonder if she’ll start laying before its dark! Like many other turtles, this mother is very methodical when it comes to nesting.

A gravid (pregnant) turtle will travel as much as 7.5 kilometres to find the perfect spot to lay their eggs, and many will return to the same place year after year (others will travel within 2km of this site over the years) (Congdon et al. 2008). Some Blanding’s Turtles nest as far as 1 kilometre from the nearest water (Congdon et al. 2008). This turtle has chosen to nest in front of a small marsh, but that marsh that sits behind her may not be where she resides the rest of the year.  I wonder how far this lady has traveled today. The traffic on the highway zooms past me. How many roads did she have to cross to get here safely?

I check on the turtle through my binoculars again. Blanding’s Turtles can take up to 2.5 hours to complete the nesting process. To my excitement, there is a change in behaviour! She has finished digging. Her neck slowly extends out, showing off a beautiful yellow colour. Then she tucks her head in. This tells me that she is finally laying eggs! After each egg, she rocks sideways, catching the egg with one leg and placing it carefully into the nest. She will repeat this process, laying on average 10-15 eggs (Ernst et al. 1994).

I am working as part of crew in The Land Between, which, under a special wildlife permit, will research turtles (all of which are disappearing in Ontario), and which will also help give next generations a boost by incubating eggs.

It is nearly dark now, as I watch her lay her eggs. I wait for her to finish, adrenaline building because the next part is the most fun! As she reaches the end of laying, I start to move. I creep through the bushes behind her on my hands and knees. I slowly move up behind her so that I can see her hind legs. I ensure she cannot see me, as the last thing I want to do is spook her off the nest. I have purposefully been watching through my binoculars from a distance up to this point. I watch as she lays her final egg and begins to bury her nest. Before she can, I pick her up, and hand her to my partner who is ready with equipment to take her morphometrics. He will weigh her and take some measurements of her shell. Meanwhile, I get back to the nest. Since I didn’t let her bury her eggs it makes my job much easier. Blanding’s Turtles are very good at camouflaging their nests. I carefully excavate the nest. These eggs will be transported to an incubator where they will be safe from predators such as raccoons and foxes that love to eat them (Harding 1997). They will also be safe from heavy machinery such as graders, as well as environmental damage such as temperature fluctuations and flooding (Riley et al., unpublished data, Edge unpublished data).

We will return the hatchlings to this area when they emerge in 56-133 days (Gillingwater and Brooks 2001). This will protect them from the road where hatchlings are at higher risk for mortality after emerging from roadside nests (Gillingwater 2013). This mother’s legacy will hopefully live on, and all her travelling and hard work will not have been in vain. While we are helping by ensuring that not as many nests are lost and more hatchlings emerge, the recruitment rate (the replacement rate) for adult turtles is still extremely low because only a small fraction (less than 1%) of the hatchlings will survive the masses of predators and find the right conditions to reach adulthood.

We release the tired turtle and watch her saunter into the ditch, and out of sight. I think to myself how lucky I am to have such a rewarding job, bug bites and all!

 

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer nest sitter, please visit the volunteer pages of our website for more information.

 

Submitted by Grace Wiley, Conservation Technician

 

 

 

Literature Cited

Ashley, E.P., and J.T. Robinson. 1996. Road mortality of amphibians, reptiles and other wildlife on the Long Point Causeway, Lake Erie, Ontario. Canadian Field Naturalist 110:403-412.

Congdon, J.D., T.E. Graham, T.B. Herman, J.W. Lang, M.J. Pappas, and B.J. Brecke. 2008. Emydoidea blandingii (Holbrook 1838) Blanding’s turtle. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., P.C.H. Pritchard, P.P van Dijk, R.A. Saumure, K.A. Buhlmann, and J.B. Iverson. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 5, pp. 015.1-015.12.

Edge, C.B. Unpublished data.

Ernst, C.H., R.W. Barbour, and J.E. Lovich. 1994. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.

Gillingwater, S.D. 2013. Unpublished report submitted to Canadian Wildlife Service. 48 pp.

Gillingwater, S.D., and R.J. Brooks. 2001. A selective herpetofaunal survey, inventory and biological research study of Rondeau Provincial Park. Report to the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Endangered Species Recovery Fund (World Wildlife Fund).

Riley, J., M. Keevil, P. Moldowan and J. Litzgus. Unpublished data.

Harding, J.H. 1997. Amphibians and reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 378 pp.

 

 

Turtles are declining in Ontario. This will have a detrimental impact on a lot of fish and wildlife species. Turtles spread aquatic seeds and remove dead matter from lakes and wetlands. They also cycle nutrients. Without these slow friends in our lakes, we would lose vital fish habitat and wetlands would suffer. This would then impact many species all the way from dragonflies, to frogs, and even moose! The main threats to turtles include road traffic, habitat loss (removal of vegetation at the shore and wetlands), deliberate kills of snapping turtles  from people who mistakenly think them harmful, and where humans live, there is little to no recruitment (eggs that survive and make it to adulthood). In settled areas nest predation is more than 80%. This is because meso-predators (middle-sized mammals) such as foxes, raccoons, and skunks feel “more comfortable” and are “more successful” occupying these areas. These middle-sized mammals make a feast of turtle eggs.

To help turtles thrive, The Land Between staff and volunteers, under the charity’s Turtle Guardians program, are conducting research on turtles on roads (taking blood samples, tracking where they are crossing etc.) and are digging up nests that are close to high risk areas such as roads, and which cannot be protected with specialized caging or other appropriate materials. Then these eggs are incubated at the Headquarters in Haliburton, for release in the fall. These activities are done under a special wildlife permit. The public cannot legally dig up nests, but also they should not dig up nests: Eggs are extremely sensitive and require special ways of extracting them without damage and also conditions to succeed.   If you see a nesting turtle on a main road in Haliburton, call us at 705-854-3578. If you see any turtle; rare, dead, alive, injured, or nesting in Haliburton, Muskoka, City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, or Simcoe, call the Turtle Hotline at 705-955-4284 and a biologist will be dispatched to get the coordinates and perhaps to take DNA samples too. If you have a nesting turtle on your own property, and  can cage it safely, this will protect the nest from predators, and presents an amazing opportunity to watch the incredible hatchlings emerge later in the year.  Cage designs are available on the Turtle Guardians website 

Turtle nesting season is nearly upon us! Usually here in the Land Between bioregion by the last week of May we would be seeing the first nesting turtles lay their eggs. However, this year we have had an interesting spring, which at times felt a little more like winter dragging directly into summer – skipping spring altogether! What does this mean for our turtle friends? Well, now that the warm weather has finally arrived we expect to see a lot of turtle activity in the coming weeks as they make up for lost time. Nesting should start anytime now as we head into June.

Turtle Guardians are starting to report more and more turtle sightings along roads. Most of these turtles are likely females heading towards their nesting sites. Did you know that turtles tend to lay their nest at the same site year after year? Turtles have great memories and within the first few years of their life they establish their home range and create a mental map of this territory. Research has shown that for the most part turtles tend to nest and overwinter in the same spots within their home ranges every year.

There are four turtle species here in the Land Between that like to lay their nests in open areas, with soft ground like sand, gravel and loose dirt – which means they will lay their nests in soft road shoulders, in dirt roads and ATV trails. These four species are Painted Turtles, Snapping Turtles, Blanding’s Turtles and Wood Turtles (listed in order of most common to most rare).

Our other three turtle species like to nest close to their home wetlands and water bodies so it is rare for them to nest on road shoulders. Northern Map turtles like sandy, open areas like the four species above, but unlike those turtles, the highly aquatic Northern Map Turtle does not like to travel very far from its home lake. So Map turtles will usually lay their eggs in an open sandy area very close to the water. Spotted Turtles also don’t travel far from their wetlands, but they prefer sheltered, wooded areas and will often lay their nest under decaying leaves. Eastern Musk turtles (Stinkpots) lay their nests the closest to water of all the Land Between turtles. Musk turtles will nest within mere metres of their wetland under leaves, decaying vegetation or rocks.

Get your turtle vision on. Watch out for nesting turtles on road shoulders!

This June and first few weeks of July make sure to watch out for Painted Turtles, Snapping Turtles, and Blanding’s Turtles on roads and road shoulders. These are the three turtles you are most likely to find crossing roads, and nesting in soft shoulders. Of course you never know, there is always the chance of finding one of the more aquatic species that tends to stay off roads (Map, Spotted, Musk), or even the extremely rare Wood Turtle.

You will know a turtle is nesting if she is lying down in the ground with a pile of turned up soil behind her. She might also be rocking back and forth from side to side slowly as she alternates using her back legs to either dig or cover her nest. It can take turtles a few hours to complete the nesting process – Snapping Turtles often take the longest as they need to dig the biggest nest and lay the most eggs. For your reference check out the summary table that compiles the nesting stats for the Land Between Turtles in Central Ontario.

Threats to nests

The biggest threat to turtle eggs are predators. Within 24 hours most turtle nests are dug up and eaten by predators like raccoons, foxes, skunks, coyotes, ravens etc. For instance, within provincial parks in Ontario predation rates for Snapping Turtles are between 60% and 100%, meaning that the vast majority of eggs are eaten before they ever get to hatch – in some cases all of them are eaten!

Now you might be thinking, well how can turtles have survived this long if their nests are so easily found and eaten by other animals? Well, the answer is that while predation rates for turtle eggs have always been high, unfortunately human development has made them higher. This is a phenomena called “subsidized predation” which means that densely populated areas like cities attract and support larger populations of meso-mammal predators (medium sized mammal predators), so there are more predators around to feed on turtle nests than there would be in an undisturbed area. This is because with more people there is more garbage around for these critters to eat and so their populations grow to be larger than they would be if they were only eating their natural diet. Who would have thought that not containing your garbage properly so that foxes and raccoons can’t get into it, could indirectly cause more turtle eggs to be eaten?!

Another threat to turtle nests is the pet trade and poachers. Many people mistakenly think that there is no harm in digging up eggs to hatch and sell; or in taking hatchlings out of the wild to have at home.

What can you do to help protect turtle nests?

The Turtle Guardians program has an entire citizen science program devoted to helping protect nesting turtles and their nests. Check out the “Nest-sitting” program on our website (https://www.turtleguardians.com/turtle-nest-

sitters-training-and-reporting-forms/). If you find a turtle nesting on your own property you can build a nest-cage that will protect the eggs from being scavenged by predators and give them a fighting chance! For information on how to build your own nest cage out of chicken wire and how to properly install it using tent pegs, check out our Nest-Sitting training webinar.

If you find a nesting turtle you can also report it to the S.T.A.R.T. (Saving Turtles At Risk Today) hotline : 705 955 4284, and if you are within their permit area, they may come to dig up the nest and incubate the eggs in their turtle incubator at Scales Nature Park. This action is allowed under special permits as it can help bolster turtle populations- especially in areas with higher nest predation or lower population densities. Once the eggs hatch the baby turtles will be released back at their nest location so they can start out where they would have if they had remained in their nests.

When will successful nests hatch?

As you can see from the summary chart of nest stats, the length of time that eggs remain in the nest before hatching (ie. incubation period) can vary widely within a species and also between species. In general, here in the Land Between and Central Ontario we can expect to see baby turtle hatchlings emerging out of the nest starting at the end of August continuing until the end of September. The exception to this is the Painted Turtle, whose hatchlings will often overwinter in their nests after hatching from their eggs. You will can see baby Painted Turtles emerge from their nests in the spring – with most of them coming out in the last two weeks of May.

 

Written by Meredith Karcz, Senior Conservation Technician

We lose so much wildlife to road mortality here in Ontario. Our roads are well paved and well-tended, making great speedways, but often these roads dissect important habitats and migration routes for wildlife. Notably, turtle populations are most threatened and impacted by road mortality (ahead even of other significant issues of habitat loss and the pet trade). This is significant because it can take more than 20 years for a turtle to reach maturity and then another 20 years or more of laying eggs, until one turtle reaches adulthood to replace its parent. Also snakes, our great pest-controllers, are killed on roads and the devastation that roads are causing to these populations, and populations of birds and mammals, remains notable, but yet unqualified.  

You can help by using vision-tactics when driving: When cruising in the highlands, or anywhere for that matter, it is important to look far ahead instead of immediately in front of you, and also to keep your eyes relaxed in order to take in the entire view. This type of "wide- viewing" takes some practice, but allows you to see what is coming from the all directions including from the sides of the roads and also to see both near and far.  Another tip is to look out for certain patterns: when driving through natural areas, take particular notice of where wetlands are found on both sides of the road. These low lying areas where roads dissect wetlands are ideal spots for many mammals including river otters, mink, raccoons, and of course, turtles to cross the road. Time of day, temperature, weather and even season also makes a difference to some animals occupancy on roads; species such as deer are more apt to be out and about in the early evening and porcupines or foxes prefer to move later at night; turtles are on the move between May and the first week of July and then again at the end of August into the fall; and turtles and snakes may be on roads to bask or feel comfortable moving about when it more than 17 Degrees Celsius by 10 am and before the late afternoon.

In addition to driving with "wide-viewing", you can also help wildlife by recording what you see on roads and the locations where you see wildlife. Reporting wildlife on roads helps biologists and organization create, facilitate or even install solutions from crossing signs, to road underpasses.  The Land Between and Turtle Guardians have launched a volunteer program specifically for watching for turtles on roads called "Road Researchers" and also have ways to report snakes on roads and other wildlife. You can volunteer as a Turtle Road Researcher here.  Also, you can report your sighting on the Land Between website, or on The Land Between iNaturalist project page

For a great guide to identifying wildlife on roads see our partner, at EcoKare International's video and new handbook for Citizen Scientists. EcoKare is a leading expert in wildlife underpasses and road permeability.

Watch our Safe Driving Video here

The psychological impacts of the pandemic are being felt across the globe, including in Canada. Findings released from a recent online survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute suggest that half of Canadians are struggling with worsened mental health, many of which reported feeling worried, anxious, and bored (click here for more details). An increasing amount of resources have become available to help people cope during these unprecedented times (click here for an example). One relatively quick and easy strategy that may provide some additional relief is increasing nature contact, or exposure to the natural world.

Nature’s Mental Health Benefits

A substantial amount of research suggests that spending time in nature can support better mental health². Regardless of where nature is experienced – a backyard, an urban park, or in remote wilderness locations – its benefits are wide-ranging. Both passive and active engagement (sitting, walking, etc.) in outdoor areas with mostly natural features, including being around trees or bodies of water, have been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and increase happiness, joy, and awe. Nature’s effects on well-being can also be quite fast-acting; even 15-20 minute walks in nature can boost mood and vitality.

People who spend more time in nature tend to feel a stronger sense of connection with the natural world (a construct known as nature connectedness or nature relatedness⁹). People with greater nature-connectedness not only engage in more environmentally-protective behaviours, but also report greater life satisfaction, personal growth, and purpose or meaning in their lives⁸. Connecting with nature may therefore help people feel happier and function better during these uncertain times.

Why is Nature Beneficial?

One explanation for nature’s well-being benefits is described by the Attention Restoration Theory, which suggests that attention is a limited resource that (like a muscle) is exhausted with use. However, attention can be restored through rest! Many daily activities require effort to focus attention, such as staying on work-related tasks amid distractions or tending to children’s needs and keeping them engaged. Even activities like checking social media or watching television (that may be perceived as restorative) can be mentally draining because they draw from the same attentional resource. The more exhausted this resource is, the more likely people are to experience poor concentration and negative moods. However,

fascinating stimuli provide a form of rest and recovery. Natural environments are restorative because they are inherently interesting and evoke soft fascination; an effortless form of attention (as opposed to more intense forms of fascination, like watching concerts or sports, which can consume more attention). Soft fascination also frees up “mental space”, allowing for more expansive and reflective thinking. Not surprisingly then, nature contact has been linked with better concentration and enhanced creativity.

What if Access to Nature is Limited?

Indirect exposure to nature, such as viewing nature images or videos, can also improve well-being. For example, watching a 30-minute slideshow of pictures of a park can be as effective in reducing stress as actually being in the park⁵. Stress recovery is also heightened when sounds of nature accompany nature scenes. Also, viewing nature images for as little as 10 minutes has been shown to reduce negative emotions, including anxiety and depression³. Evidence also suggests that viewing nature images that have high colour brightness, saturation, and contrast can help reduce boredom⁴. Although simulated nature is not as effective in improving well-being as actual nature experiences⁷, it may serve as a supplement when access to nature areas is limited. Click on the links below for examples of alternative ways to connect with nature:

• Virtual Walking Trails
• Nature Sounds
• EarthCam

nnecting with nature is not a cure-all for mental health struggles, but it may aid in coping as people adjust to a rapidly changing world. In fact, it has been argued that nature contact is an underutilized therapeutic strategy, and that a connection with nature is necessary for human well-being and functioning¹. Research shows that people tend to underestimate nature’s benefits, so prioritizing regular nature contact may be essential to support your mental health and to feel more connected.

Written by Danielle Lachance, MSc. Psych

 

References

1. Baxter, D. E., & Pelletier, L. G. (2019). Is nature relatedness a basic human psychological need? A critical examination of the extant literature. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 60(1), 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000145
2. Bratman et al. (2019). Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science Advances, 5: eaax0903. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aax0903
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Do you know the difference between a bog and a fen? Can you tell what species of turtle is basking on a log in your backyard pond? Do you know what type of trees you usually find in a swamp? You can learn all of these things, and more by participating in the Wetland Watchers citizen science program with Turtle Guardians.

Wetlands are important ecosystems that seem to fly under the radar, and are not given the credit they deserve. They provide critical habitat to wildlife – 70% of Ontario’s wildlife use wetland habitat at some point in their life cycle! Wetlands also act as natural carbon sinks, soaking up atmospheric carbon in their wetland plants that is then trapped in peat when these plants only partially decompose and become part of the thick peat floor of a bog or fen.

Flood control is another handy service wetlands provide. Their water-logged soils and water-loving vegetation can naturally handle the ebb and flow of fluctuating water levels better than other areas (especially those highly modified by humans) that can be badly damaged by floods.

If you recall, the last two Turtle Guardians blog posts have been about wetland types that we find here in the Land Between: bogs, fens, swamps and marshes. We are super excited to be rolling out the Wetland Watchers citizen science program, because it will help you learn first-hand about these amazing ecosystems, and what type of plants and animals you can find in them.

The Wetland Watchers program gets you outside once a week, and guides you through the process of: selecting your own wetland, classifying your wetland, identifying turtles you find there and recording data about their behaviour and location. With the resources provided in your Wetland Watchers volunteer package you will also have the chance to learn about wetland plant species, and some rare wetland bird species to watch out for here in the Land Between.

Normally, we would be hosting in-person workshops to train our wetland watchers in wetland classification and turtle identification, but because of current restrictions we have instead turned to the wonderful world of online learning J. This is good news for people who would like to participate, because now you can learn all you need to know from the comfort of your own home on your computer. We have designed online workshops in webinar form that guide you through turtle identification in the Land Between, and explain how to survey your wetland and record your data. These materials are available for everyone for free on the Turtle Guardians website (https://www.turtleguardians.com/).

If you are unsure about committing to becoming a wetland watcher – you should still check out our species identification webinars to practice your Ontario turtle identification skills! There is a beginner-level general turtle ID webinar, and a more specific (and more advanced) wetland watchers turtle ID webinar where you have the chance to test your ID knowledge with some tricky turtle photos.

Currently, the Wetland Watchers program has to be done on your own property, because of COVID 19 restrictions. If you are interested in this program but do not have a wetland on your property, we still encourage you to complete the webinars and training. If restrictions are lifted later on this summer we might be able to launch this program outside of just your own property, because it can be done individually or with small groups from one household, and does not involve interacting with other members of the public.

 

 

What Kind of Turtle Are You? Take the Turtle Personality Quiz Here

Now you can join us each  Friday at 2pm for live feeding of our friendly teaching turtles: Mica, Tripod, Jeremiah, Timothy and Betty. Plus watch Jeremiah get his skateboarding in!

Each week we also teach you new fun facts about turtles: how they navigate, how they hibernate, how to tell a boy from a girl and more!

This is an interactive Facebook Live-streaming event, fit for kids and those young at heart. Learn turtle-y cool facts. Answer skill testing questions and win prizes! We look forward to seeing you online!

Link to event listing here