How we are helping
Wetland Habitat Protection
Turtle Guardians works to protect wetlands, by monitoring and mapping wetlands, modeling wetland function, and creating decision matrices and curriculums for municipalities. We also partner with community members to raise awareness and where necessary advocate for protections. Turtle Guardians are also accredited Ontario Wetland Evaluators.
Saving Nests and Headstarting Hatchlings
Under special permits, Turtle Guardian staff respond to calls about nesting females in dangerous locations. We help ensure the mothers reach safety after nesting, and will excavate, incubate and release hatchlings back to their native nest areas. This helps reduce risks of predation and also road mortality. To date, we are the third largest incubator in Ontario.
Piloting Road Mitigation Projects
Turtle Guardians has worked with EcoKare International, Scales Nature Park, local municipalities, and with the support of Environment Canada and Climate Change through the Community Nominated Priority Place Program, as well as the Eastern Georgian Bay Initiative, Ganewenim Mshkiikii to advance turtle recovery by reducing road mortality.
We recruit hundreds of volunteers, like you, to monitor roads, act as first responders, and spread awareness at the same time!
We conduct regular road patrols and map data, to identify hotspots; and then assess these for installing ecopassages or directive fencing.
We design and install large billboards in hotspots for turtle mortality in Cottage Country, and, put up, in partnership with municipalities, crossing signs in key areas.
We are piloting a new style of "jump out" and ecopassage using using half cut welded steel barrels that prevent turtles from getting onto the road, but which also allow any animal caught on the road to easily escape the road. These sections are easily connected and easier than most options to maintain.
We work to install alternative nesting mounds in conjunction with directive fencing and ecopassages.
We hold conferences and workshops to help municipalities and experts design mitigation solutions; to help them design, procure and maintain ecopassages.
We provide education and educational resources to all stakeholders.
And we continue to learn and evolve...
Road Mitigation Resources for Practioners
Watch our full webinars below, guided by Road Ecology expert Kari Gunson, owner of EcoKare International, to discover how to design and maintain ecopassages
Thank you to partners:
