Saving Turtles Together
Turtle Crossing Guards help to protect our slow moving friends as they travel over busy roads!
Crossing Guards monitor high mortality sites in key areas to help turtles cross roads and note any they have seen/helped.
Crossing Guard areas are often pre-identified and known sites where turtles are in peril. Sites are within the Land Between area.
From May to October turtles will be crossing the roads while traveling through their territory, nesting and returning to overwintering grounds. Rain or shine our ancient relatives need your help!
Below are steps to becoming a turtle life saver:
Our key crossing sites
This year (2022), The Turtle Guardians Program has two priority road mortality hotspots (in addition to our regularly monitored hotspots). We encourage interested volunteers to sign up for these locations if they live nearby, and to contact us if they have any questions about these areas. At these sites, even more than other areas, we need volunteers to monitor during peak turtle and road activity times; between 8am and 10am, and between 4pm and 6pm, from mid-May to July and from early August to early October. Turtles are also particularly active after it rains.
We also accept volunteers during other time slots as indicated on the volunteer registration form, but would like to emphasize the importance of these particular time slots.
Ancient Grace’s Wetland - Gelert Road, Haliburton, ON
Anyone living in the Haliburton, Dysart et al., or surrounding area who is interested in being a Crossing Guard is encouraged to sign up to monitor Grace’s wetland!
The wetland that stretches across Gelert Road at the intersection with Grass Lake Road in Haliburton, is home to Grace the +125 year old Snapping Turtle, as well as other turtle and wildlife populations. Grace is well known by local community members, and her protection and well being is a concern for many. We know that Grace hibernates in this wetland based on observations made throughout previous years of monitoring and research. She has also been spotted crossing the road to reach other parts of the wetland. Grace and many other turtles that rely on this wetland must be protected from the threats of motorized vehicles on the road. Monitoring and protecting this wetland, which provides vital habitat and resources for Grace and many other turtles, is important for the resilience and integrity of the area as a whole.
County Road 32 Wildlife Zone Pilot Project - Peterborough, ON
Anyone living in the Peterborough area who is interested in being a Crossing Guard is encouraged to sign up to monitor our new wildlife zone pilot project!
County Road 32 runs along the Trent Severn Waterway, starting at Trent University (named Nassau Mills Road in the southern reaches) to the town of Lakefield in the North. Certain areas along County Road 32 have been identified as hotspots for turtles that are crossing the road and hit by vehicles during their active season. Turtle Guardians is working on a road mortality mitigation project along this road to help reduce threats to turtle populations and to increase awareness and safety to community members that frequent the area. The project will include the installation of exclusion fencing, turtle crossing signs, and speed monitoring devices. We need volunteers to monitor these areas to help turtles crossing the road, and report any dead, injured, or nesting turtles they encounter. The data gathered from this volunteer effort will actively be used towards future conservation and road mortality mitigation projects in the area!