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© Lora Denis
August 10, 2023–Yogendra Shakya
Reptiles and Amphibians•Stewardship and restoration•Wild Species
Midland painted turtle © Scott Gillingwater
During our very first volunteer shift for Turtle Protectors, an Indigenous guided stewardship program supported by Indigenous Elders and community members in High Park, we were blessed to witness a beautiful mama Midland Painted turtle laying eggs and skillfully cover the nest up. This serendipitous meeting has convinced my family to become turtle protectors and nature stewards for life.
It happened on a rainy mid-July day this year. The rain stopped around 7:00 pm and I managed to convince my partner and our two kids to go to High Park with me to do our first turtle watching shift. Everyone was so glad that they came. At the bottom of the ‘Cherry Blossom Hill,’ we saw a round creature digging a hole. We slowly went closer and realized it was a mama turtle making a nest.
We called the Turtle Protector hotline and Amyris Rada, a Turtle Protectors lead, guided us on what to do next. Initially, we thought it was a Red-eared Slider turtle (a non-native species) since there had been other recent sightings of this species. However, upon closer inspection, we realized that it was a Midland Painted turtle, one of the eight turtle species native to Ontario. Her shell was smooth, and she had beautiful yellow stripes on the head and neck, and orange-red spots all along the sides of her legs and shell. It was indeed as if mother nature had taken a brush and merrily painted these colors on her.
We watched in awe as the mama turtle laid about half a dozen eggs. We were amazed to see that her hind legs were quite long, wide, and very flexible. It was clear that they were designed to enable her to quickly dig a good size nest, correctly position her eggs, and then adeptly cover the nest as if to make it inconspicuous.
Jenny Davis, a co-founder of Turtle Protectors, and volunteer Megan Malowany happened to be nearby so they joined us and guided us on how to install the turtle nest protector and next steps. We were a bit concerned that the mama turtle had begun to wander uphill instead of back to Grenadier Pond. But Jenny advised us that we should trust the mama turtle’s wisdom and decisions. Thus, we wished it a good night from afar and headed back home.
Since then, we have been going to High Park regularly to make sure all the nest protectors are safe and secure. We have also been educating ourselves about turtles and other flora and fauna. For example, it was fascinating to learn that the eggs of painted turtles have a special biological “antifreeze” property that protects their tissues from freezing in the winter. We are looking forward to welcoming the little hatchlings later this year.
It is wonderful to be part of a community-led environmental stewardship initiative like the Turtle Protectors. What makes this initiative even more special is that it is grounded in Indigenous principles of reconciling our relationship with nature and practices of Etuaptmumk or ‘two eyed seeing.’ Co-founder Carolynne Crawley is from Mi’kmaw, Black and Irish ancestry and a member of the Indigenous Land Stewardship Circle. Carolynne, together with Indigenous Elders Vivian Recollet and Catherine Tàmmaro, teach us about “Indigenous Ways of Knowing” and about the sacred significance of protecting turtles on Turtle Island.
The success of Turtle Protectors in High Park has inspired other similar initiatives like the Smyth Park Turtle Watch. Many of these community-led environmental stewardship initiatives embody so many best practices such as community science, centering Indigenous principles, and collaboration between experts, organizations, and volunteers. As such, these initiatives are not just about protecting and reviving nature; they are about promoting a caring community, and about reviving our interconnections and shared wellbeing with nature. We urgently need more initiatives like these to care for our wild species and spaces.
If you live in Toronto and see a turtle in High Park, please call the Turtle Protectors hotline at 647-491-4057. If you’re interested in volunteering or attending any of their events, please visit their website for more information.
Northern leopard frog © Jozsef Szasz-Fabian
Thank you kindly, John
What an exciting and inspirational experience, Yogendra! The turtle world thanks you and your family for being protectors!