We are having our 1st Annual Turtles on the Move Parade! Saturday May 4, 2024. From 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Meeting Point High Park Chess House.
Led by Grandmother Vivian Recollet, the parade will feature Turtle puppets made by Ange Loft (Kanien’kehá:ka, from Kahnawà:ke, QC, Canada; lives in Toronto, ON, Canada), Indigenous Drummers and Singers, and volunteers from turtle protection groups across Ontario including Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, Heart Lake Troopers, Turtle Guardians, Friends of Manitoulin Turtles, Turtle Tias Aurora, Think Turtle Conservation Initiative and more!
Join us and bring a homemade Turtle puppet and/or a sign with words of encouragement for Turtle!
For many Indigenous Peoples turtles have been here since the beginning of time; western science says more than 220 million years. Yet all 8 species of turtles living in Ontario are “at risk”. Road mortality is the second leading cause of population decline after habitat loss.
Freshwater turtles spend most of their time in water but they do travel on land to lay their eggs. Celebrate turtles’ seasonal movements and learn what you can do to support them by joining Turtle Protectors’ 1st Annual Parade.
The parade will start at the Chess House located near High Park’s Bloor entrance, move through the park, down cherry blossom road and around Grenadier Pond, then up Ellis Avenue and Ellis Park Road, ending at the parkette on the corner of Ellis Park Road and Wendigo Way. We chose this route because some of the turtles we work with cross these roads to nest.
