Nature London donation supports conservation of rare turtles across southwestern Ontario

Scott Gillingwater, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) species at risk

biologist/herpetologist, with two softshell turtles.

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has received a $20,000 donation from Nature London to help launch a turtles at risk education program and expand a tallgrass prairie restoration project. The funding will be distributed over four years.

For more than 30 years, the UTRCA has worked to bring local turtle populations back from the brink of extinction through the Southern Ontario At-Risk Reptiles (SOARR) program.

“This educational program is a collaboration between our education department and the SOARR team,” said Karlee Flear, UTRCA community education co-ordinator. “The aim is to create programming to showcase what they’ve been able to achieve, the work that they’re doing and the research that they’ve done, and be able to show that to the community.”

Flear said growing demands in Ontario’s agriculture sector continue to threaten wetlands and turtle habitats, making conservation efforts more urgent.

“Southwestern Ontario has tremendous pressures in terms of land use,” she said. “We’re seeing incredible development in agricultural land use and all those things impact turtle habitat, biodiversity and water quality, all of which impact turtles’ health and their ability to survive.”

Agricultural expansion often leads to fertilizer and pesticide runoff that degrades water quality, creating low-oxygen conditions harmful to turtles. It can also cause habitat fragmentation and increase turtle mortality on roads. Altered water flows and reduced groundwater recharge further compromise the suitability of wetlands for turtle species across the region.

The SOARR program creates and protects habitat, conducts long-term research and incubates turtle eggs found across the watershed. Hatchlings are released back into the wild.

“They have been working really diligently to create and protect turtle habitat,” said Flear. “They’ve done some really long-term research on the turtle populations in our watershed, as well as collect and incubate eggs, and then release them back to the wild. Their collective efforts over the past 30 years have made great strides in our at-risk turtle population, specifically the spiny softshell turtle.”

The donation from Nature London will allow SOARR to work more closely with the UTRCA’s community education team to share their knowledge with watershed residents.

“What Nature London funding is doing is allowing us to get out into the community to educate students about these turtle populations, as well as educate individuals on how they can help protect and serve the turtle species in our watershed,” Flear said.

Learning opportunities will include turtle lab tours, interactive activities at community events and school programs highlighting the six turtle species found in southwestern Ontario.

“The spiny softshell turtle is a unique turtle found in southwestern Ontario,” Flear said. “It’s not found anywhere else in Canada. A lot of effort has been made on that particular species. However, work is being done to protect all of the native turtles we have in our watershed.”

Flear expressed gratitude for the partnership.

“I wanted to say a special thank you to Nature London. It’s difficult for us to expand our programming, to do these projects without them. So their funding is much appreciated, and we really value them as a partner in our community.”

Nature London, a volunteer-driven charitable organization founded in 1864, works to protect, educate and encourage enjoyment of the natural environment.

“Nature London is proud to support these initiatives in support of our mission to preserve and enjoy nature,” said Don Taves, president of Nature London.

More information about protecting turtles in the region is available at thamesriver.on.ca.