Oct 7, 2026 - Volunteer Email
Mino gizheb everyone,
We hope you all are adjusting well to the cooler autumn temperatures. It's an exciting time of year to witness the changes on land, in water, and among plant and animal relatives. Soon turtles will begin brumation. Some may need to come onto land to reach their winter wetlands. So please keep an eye out for turtles on land and call the Hotline. Hatchlings can continue to emerge from nests while daytime temperatures are still warm. Temperatures are still reaching the late teens and low twenties. Last year, we had a hatchling emerge on November 1st. Due to the late emergence, this hatchling overwintered at TWC.
A reminder: if turtle is on land for a period of time and the temperature drops overnight, it is important that the Hotline is informed. Sudden temperature drops can cause a reaction in them depending upon the temperature and how long they remain on land.
HATCHLINGS:
To date, everyone has supported a total of 1500 hatchlings to reach water! This is the most hatchlings since we began operations! Chi miigwetch for all of your time, commitment, and care for turtles and support for Turtle Protectors! We seriously can't do this work without you.
SCHEDULE:
We notice that many shifts remain unfilled across all parks this week. We know weekly park commitments require significant effort. We hope that even if you have an hour to spare to check nests that would be very helpful to those carrying more of the load for nest checks.
Reminder of the two-hour-a-week commitment. Next year there will be some changes in how we operate. Stay tuned to learn more.
If nests are blocked they need to be checked three times daily, ideally every four hours. Nests can be temporarily blocked for short periods of time after emergence, if you can't do the three times a day checks.
When night and morning temperatures are chilly—under 8 degrees—there is little likelihood that hatchlings have emerged. Therefore, there could be a delay in checking nests until temperatures rise above 12 degrees or higher. You can always text the Hotline to inquire since Adore is in communication with Jenny and I.
EVENTS:
We have two scheduled wetland walks coming up. Also, please save the date for our annual End of the Year Shellabration
Oct 8th from 6pm to 7pm - Etienne Brule, meet in the parking lot. Parking in the lot may be difficult.
Oct 13th from 5:30pm to 6:30pm - High Park, mural reveal created by Indigenous artists Macie and Claudia - meet at Grenadier Cafe
Nov. 15th 1pm to 4pm - High Park Nature Centre for Volunteer Shellabration
We hope you all have a lovely week ahead.
Carolynne and Jenny
