To have pre-existed dinosaurs and still be around some 220 million years after first walking the earth, the turtle’s survival skills should not be an issue. Still, all eight of Ontario’s turtle species are increasingly at risk, with loss of habitat, poaching, and roadway mortality just some of the factors at play.
Combine that with the fact that turtles remain a major biodiversity component of the ecosystems they inhabit and the message is clear: turtles’ well-being and good health deserves our attention.
Since opening in 2002, the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre on Chemong Road has seen and treated thousands of injured turtles, the majority struck by vehicles. In many cases, the eggs of female turtles that subsequently died have been extracted and hatched, ensuring the species’ continuance.
With a mission to conserve and protect Ontario turtles, the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC), which oversees the trauma centre, has been hard pressed to serve its shelled patients. Over the last 10 years, injured turtle admissions have increased six-fold, with close to 2,000 turtles admitted last year alone, resulting as well in close to 8,000 eggs to incubate and hatchlings to house.
Enter Mary and Gerry Young.
The siblings, wanting to preserve their family’s 100-acre farm property off Television Road north of Parkhill Road, have donated it for the development of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre’s new home. Projected to open about this time next year, the 10,000-square-foot facility will house a new state-of-the-art turtle hospital, including an ICU, a designated hatching area, and a turtle education centre.
VIDEO: Conceptual Design of the future home of the OTCC
On Wednesday (July 5), the Youngs were on hand as turtle health advocates and dignitaries, including Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini — Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks — lauded their gift before breaking ground for the new centre’s construction.
In her remarks, Mary explained that their motivation for donating the land was, and remains, anchored in their desire to see the property preserved as a natural wetland that provides the habitat for wildlife, including turtles, to populate and thrive. As the location of the new centre, that is ensured for future generations to enjoy.
“We want the property to continue to look about the way it does now and we want it to continue to provide habitat for wildlife,” she said, adding the new centre’s development “fits in with this vision.”
Mary added she has been tremendously impressed with the dedication to turtle rehabilitation and conservation shown by veterinarian Dr. Sue Carstairs, the executive and medical director of the OTCC.
“I first met Sue about five or six years ago. I was amazed at her energy. At that time, she was the sole veterinarian and every summer she would treat anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 turtles alone. That’s a lot of work.”
For his part, Gerry said the hope is the property, that was bought by his father Clinton Young in 1928, will remain a natural oasis in a sea of urban sprawl for years to come.
“I’m thinking 50 or 75 or 100 years from now. The city is going to evolve around this (but it) could be a natural habitat for people. Curtis Creek comes down through here. This is going to be a good lifestyle place for wildlife.”
For his part, Minister Piccini spoke to the collective effort that any conservation effort relies upon. He also reflected on his first exposure to the OTCC’s work — a visit to the centre prompted and encouraged by Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, who was also present at the groundbreaking event.
“I remember seeing turtles on the ground and up high in every nook and cranny there were turtles,” he recalled. “Everywhere I go since then I see the (I Brake For Turtles) stickers on cars and people stopping (for injured turtles). If you (OTCC) are the pebble, the ripple has spread across Ontario. This is a big day. We’re turning the tide for at-risk turtles.”
Since 2018, the Ontario government, as part of its Species At Risk Stewardship Program, has already provided just more than $914,000 in support of the OTCC. The province is investing nearly $500,000 in new funding to help mitigate threats to at-risk turtles through rehabilitation, education, field studies, research, and data sharing.
“This forever home has been a dream that is finally coming to reality,” said MPP Smith. “I cannot express how much great work the centre does, from rehabilitating injured turtles to the recovery and fertilization of turtle eggs from those turtles that sadly don’t make it. We are extremely fortunate have a world leader in conservation right here in our backyard.”
Douro-Dummer Mayor Heather Watson was also on hand and echoed Minister Piccini’s praise for Dr. Carstairs and her staff as well as volunteer contributors.
“The five-year effort to get here today reminds me of the turtle success mantra — slow and steady wins the race,” said Mayor Watson. “Because of the contributions of champions like Mary and Gerry Young, and the many other contributors and philanthropists, this project is able to move forward.”
“The centre will be able to continue to do the work that it does so well in a facility that’s specifically built for this purpose,” Mayor Watson added. “Generations of turtles will continue long past any of us being here, thanks to the work of the centre.”
Noting this day “has been six years in the making,” Dr. Carstairs praised “the pillars” of the $3 million capital campaign for their contributions — a list that includes a number of family-established foundations.
She later noted that the capital campaign has brought in about $2.5 million to date and naming opportunities remain available. To learn more or to make a donation, visit www.ontarioturtle.ca/donation-options.
Of note, care for injured turtles extends well beyond the centre’s doors. For example, the Turtle Taxi program has more than 600 volunteers across Ontario who pick up injured turtles and transport them to partnering veterinary first responders, clinics, and then to the OTCC.
The same volunteers also transport healed turtles back to their home habitat. Also helping out is a pilot who flies injured turtles from northern Ontario to Peterborough.
At the site of the new centre, the OTCC is currently caring for 1,000 turtles in two cramped buildings converted for that purpose. That’s in addition to the 2,000 turtles being cared for at the Chemong Road location. It’s projected the new centre will double that capacity.
