Who are We?

Turtle Protectors advocate, support and protect our Turtle relatives living within some city parks in Tkaronto while embracing all of our kin! 

Our turtle nest protection program in the parks strives to:

• Reconcile human impacts  upon our turtle relatives  

• Share Indigenous ways of being in reciprocal relationship with all of our relations

• Cultivate and share Indigenous knowledges and leadership in High Park

• Embrace the concept Etuaptmumk (two eyed seeing) that Mi'kmaw Elder Albert Marshall has widely spoken about

• Raise awareness of turtle nesting in the seven parks we currently operate in

• Engage park goers as volunteer Turtle Protectors who could help identify nesting turtles in need of protection

• Build and distribute turtle nest protectors that help ensure the turtles and their eggs are able to survive, and thrive, in the park while allowing eggs to hatch and hatchlings to leave the protector safely.

We are guided by Indigenous knowledge principles that can shape how we engage with nature and one another. Two of the most important are:

• Reciprocity. Viewing Mother Earth and other beings as kin can inspire us to care for all beings as much as we care for our fellow human beings.

• Building relationships In a good way. The belief that building reciprocal relationships takes time, and that the process of relationship-building is equally important as the outcomes of those relationships.