CHRONICLE HERALD (Halifax, Nova Scotia) 04 July 08 A soft spot for hard shells - With the help of 250 volunteers, Blanding turtle is thriving again (Beverley Ware)
There’s a turtle in Carter Feltham’s backyard. Carter has named her Ella, and she keeps a very close eye on her.
In fact, the 12-year-old spent 150 hours last year making sure the Blanding’s turtle nest behind her home in Pleasant River, Queens County, remained safe from predators. She has done that every year since she was seven and in that time has delicately taken about 35 new hatchlings and put them in the water, greatly improving their chances of survival.
Carter is one of more than 250 volunteers who collectively have given over 10,000 hours to help the recovery process for species at risk in Kejimkujik National Park and the surrounding area.
"I just love animals," said Carter, who has been an active member of the species-at-risk club at North Queens Elementary School, taking a slide show and talk to other students as far afield as Digby.
On Thursday, she was given the honour of returning one of 34 young turtles to their natural environment after they were nurtured in captivity for two years. She named her turtle Kryslie for her two best friends, Krystal and Haley, also volunteers with the project.
"I wanted to show them that I really want to be their friends forever."
The Blanding’s turtle is a species at risk and is protected under federal and provincial legislation. There are about 350 of them in Nova Scotia.
As part of the effort to protect and increase the turtle’s numbers, volunteers took three eggs from each of the nests they had been watching. The eggs were taken to Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford, where they were incubated, hatched and raised for two years.
They were treated well, said Stephen Flemming, species-at-risk scientist at Kejimkujik.
"They’re beefed-up turtles."
At two years of age, they are about the size of a four- or five-year-old turtle from the wild. And Mr. Flemming said monitoring has shown this "head-starting" program works. The survival rate of these turtles is 70 per cent; that of Blanding’s turtles born in the wild is two to five per cent.
Efforts to save the Blanding’s turtle began with Eve, who was marked in 1968. Today, at 65, she still lays about 10 eggs a year.
Each June, park staff, researchers and volunteers monitor nesting sites in Kejimkujik and outside the park at McGowan Lake and Pleasant River.
Carter says she checks Ella’s nest just about every day. She has a wire mesh over the top that’s held in place with four pieces of wood and some rocks, in case an animal tries to flip it over.
Each day, she takes that off and peers inside to see if there’s a hole in one of the eggs. If there isn’t, she covers them back up and repeats the process the next day. If any have hatched, she takes the babies out and puts them in the body of water nearest the nest. Ella has three nesting spots, one near sand, one on a bridge and another near a road.
Mr. Flemming said the volunteers range in age from six to 83 and all have been trained and mentored by researchers.
Scientists track the turtles in the wild with transmitters. The adult females have VHF radio transmitters glued to their shells that tell researchers where they nest.
Some adult turtles now have GPS transmitters that weigh 100 grams, making them the smallest known GPS transmitter. They were designed by Kejimkujik volunteer Norm Green and will help to understand in greater detail the Blanding’s turtles’ habitat.
Tiny transmitters that weigh less than a gram are being attached to some of the toonie-sized hatchlings. They are powered by hearing-aid batteries that have to be replaced every couple of weeks, so the transmitter is attached with Velcro.
The release ceremony at Kejimkujik on Thursday was marked with traditional native ceremonies because the turtles are an important part of native culture — a symbol of strength, patience and stability. Elder Rose Morris of the Acadia First Nation said her ancestors called the area Turtle Island.
Mr. Flemming said for him, the turtles represent a symbol of hope for our changing world. Scientists have know-ledge about the turtles now, the community is concerned and has taken action, and the turtles are returning to their natural environment.
Hundreds of nests have been protected because of volunteers who go out under the cover of darkness, waiting silently by the lakeshore for the female to return to her nest. They teach us the importance of slowing down and becoming reconnected to the Earth, he said.
A soft spot for hard shells