June 29 - Weekly Volunteer Email
Aaniin/Hello Everyone,
We hope you are staying cool and hydrated today!
Please be aware of the upcoming heatwave. If you are someone in your older years or have a medical condition that this heat will impact, don't have A/C, live alone and don't have anyone to check in on you, please let us know! We can create a buddy system to ensure you are supported. Please text the Hotline to let us know!
UPDATES:
We have protected 97 nests so far. Since the last volunteer email, we have found 17 more nests. We have had our first nests in Biidaasige and Tommy Thompson Park. We also protected Northern Map Turtle nest for the first time.
We are still in nesting season. There are many turtles who haven't returned yet to nest in Sam Smith and Smythe. There are also a few nests in other parks. We are eagerly awaiting their return! Not all turtles nest every year. But it is always exciting to see them return.
NESTS PROTECTED:
1 in Biidaasige
1 in Tommy Thompson
20 in Brickworks
22 in High Park
5 in Rennie Park
8 in Humber - EB
1 in Home Smith
15 in Humber Bay Park
7 in King’s Mill
10 in Smythe Park
2 in Woodbine
3 in Sam Smith
2 in other parks (Humber Yacht Club shoreline and Taylor Creek Park)
WHY WE CHOOSE TO EXCAVATE SOME NESTS:
Choosing to excavate is a serious choice. Excavation requires significant resources: eggs must travel to Scales Nature Park in Orillia for incubation, and hatchlings must then make the return trip. Additionally, western science shows that hatchlings developing in an incubator don't develop the same as those developing in the nest cavity.
We excavate nests when there is a threat. That threat could be a nest located very close to a road where a car might back onto the nest; a nest by a road in parks where we lack enough volunteers to monitor during hatchling season, or nests in wood chips or near other nests that have been predated (dug up by other beings). We also excavate nests where protectors cannot be placed because they would become tripping hazards, for example, baseball or soccer fields or in the middle of trails. European red fire ants are also a threat to eggs and hatchlings inside the nest.
VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE:
We are so grateful for the many volunteer hours contributed so far!
We know many people are or have been absent. Reminder, to please mark your absences on the spreadsheet weekly.
We are still noticing many unfilled shifts. Please sign up for shifts in advance; preferably at least a few days before the upcoming week. Many hands make light work!
You can sign up for shifts in other parks, if you wish to do so
MENTORS CHECKING IN WITH VOLUNTEERS:
Mentors will begin reaching out to volunteers who haven't signed up for weekly shifts and haven't marked themselves absent. When volunteers were recruited, committing to three hours a week was a mandatory requirement. We know life circumstances happen. We appreciate being informed if something has changed. We heavily rely on volunteers to support turtles. We are so grateful for this commitment! We can't do this work without you.
If you are someone who hasn't been signing up for shifts and hasn't marked yourself absent, we would like to know if we can change anything in our recruitment process, trainings, or beyond to better support people in continuing to volunteer for the season.
WEATHER THIS WEEK:
Due to extreme heat this week, we advise people to sign up for shorter shifts. We want to ensure everyone's health and safety is prioritized. Please remember to stay hydrated.
If you are with a turtle, please contact the Hotline if you need anything like a water refill or other support during this heatwave. We can reach out to volunteers to see if anyone can drop off water etc to you
Turtles may be prone to nest in the morning or evening if the temperatures get above 30 degrees. This is based on past observations. There is one exception: Red-Eared Sliders prefer the heat as they are a southern relative. So they may be more active during the day
Rain is predicted; this will entice turtles to nest
Reminder: Please do not be in parks during lightning and high winds.
RED-EARED SLIDER NESTS:
As mentioned in this year's nesting training, we have noticed some Red Eared Slider hatchlings emerging from unprotected nests this year. Because they are not native here, we cannot bring them to water. Therefore, we had to find forever homes for ones that were spotted. Unfortunately, we don't have the capacity to do this often if many RES hatchlings emerge from nests.
We are the only known turtle protection group that still protects RES adults when they come onto land to nest, cross roads, or switch wetlands. We just don't protect their nests. If hatchlings were to successfully reproduce and populate the city's wetlands, we may experience some challenges from the Ministry with our work. In other provinces there are culling programs to remove these non-native relatives. As you know it is not their fault they are in waterways; this is a human problem. Culling isn't happening in Ontario, not yet. We don't want to give the government a reason to do so. Therefore we have a protocol in place for RES nests. This will protect adult RES currently in waterways.
If a RES Mama has nested (identification must be 100% accurate), we ask volunteers to mark that nest with sticks and immediately send the pinned location to the Hotline. Escort Mama turtle back to water. If you feel comfortable, we ask that you respectfully dig up the nest and expose the eggs. Exposing their eggs renders them non-viable and hopefully provides food for other beings.
Before doing so, we ask volunteers to say a few words explaining why we must do this action. Through Indigenous lenses, we speak to all beings letting them know our actions and why. This is out of respect. Please know that Grandmother Vivian spoke with her Elders about this protocol before it was put into practice.
We know this may not be comfortable for everyone for multiple reasons. We want this to happen the day the eggs have been laid because we don't want to do this once hatchlings begin to form in the egg. Please indicate to the Hotline operator whether or not you are comfortable with exposing the eggs. There will be no judgement either way.
If a volunteer is not comfortable, we will either dispatch volunteers who are or I will do it and offer tobacco prior to doing so.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.
SIGNAL CHAT:
We know there are many messages in the park chat groups! It can be overwhelming to read them all. Instead of reading them, just scroll down to the bottom of the message and send a text to the group asking if there is anything you need to be aware of now that you are starting your shift. That way you avoid reading many messages and can get any important updates.
If no one responds, that means there is nothing new to report.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Volunteer Shellabration Ice Cream Party!!!
Save the date! July 8 in High Park and July 9 at Brickworks
We want to celebrate you! Please join us for one of the gatherings. This year, we are holding one west end Shellabration and in the east.
This event is for volunteers only. We don't have the capacity to invite guests. We hope you understand. If your partner or children volunteers with you, they are most welcome.
Please fill out this form to let us know you're coming: CLICK HERE
Celebration of Life Ceremony
Conducted by Grandmother Vivian, Firekeeper Joshua
August 5th 7pm to 9pm in High Park behind the Nature Centre (near Bloor entrance)
Miigwetch everyone! We hope you all have a lovely week ahead! Please prioritize your health and well being while in the parks especially during this heat.
Carolynne and Jenny
