Parting is such sweet sorrow…

When I moved to Kingston in 2014, my daily travel to work took me through the Westbrook Wetland. I was horrified passing through the wetland in the spring and witnessing the slaughter of huge numbers of turtles that had come up to the road to nest. When I stopped working in late 2016, I vowed that I would do something to try to remedy that horrendous situation.

I researched everything that I could find about turtles and their habitats and the most effective means to mitigate their survival, particularly on the roads.

In April of 2018, I relaunched ‘Turtles Kingston’ which had basically been non existent since the installation of exclusion fencing on Princess St. in front of the Ambassador Hotel back in 2014. In 2013, the City of Kingston had commissioned the engineering firm, MacIntosh Perry, to identify ‘Turtle Road Mortality Hotspots’ within the City limits. Four locations were identified with the Westbrook Wetland located on Princess St (Route # 2) between Collins Bay and Westbrook Roads, classified as the number one Turtle Road Mortality Hotspot.

The city opted to address one of the other three hotspots identified and chose Princess St in front of the Ambassador Hotel because it was a higher profile location and cost less to mitigate. Nothing more was done after that initiative.

My primary objective for the relaunch of Turtles Kingston in 2018 was the mitigation of the Westbrook Wetland as that was where it had all started for me after witnessing the slaughter of so many of these magnificent creatures on the roadway. My husband is a Social Media specialist and so we decided it was best to launch a ‘Facebook page’ as the primary source for public outreach. It was very important that the public support the initiatives I would soon be putting into action. We rapidly climbed to more than 2,000 followers within the first few weeks and presently have more than 4,200 dedicated participants.

I established a series of goals and objectives to address the diminishing turtle populations. I presented the goals and objectives as 'modules' that addressed the various areas of turtle conservation that any member of the public could implement in their respective areas. 'Citizen Scientists' are a very powerful force behind mobilizing actions that bring about significant change.

The first objective was the mitigation of the Westbrook Wetland with the installation of exclusion fencing, eco passages and alternate nesting sites. As an advocacy initiative that I knew would take time and public support to be realized. Spreading awareness and educating the public would be essential.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

After a few years and many, many hours of relentless advocacy, Kingston City Council voted unanimously in January of this year (2021) to delegate the funds for the mitigation of the Westbrook Wetland with the installation of turtle exclusion fencing, eco passages and alternate nesting sites. BRAVO! This was a monumental achievement! I whole heartedly thank Kingston’s City Council for their support in the conservation of one of the world’s most imperilled species.

To respond to the immediate needs of the turtles was to establish what I called the ‘Turtle Trauma Response Program’. The objective was to respond to the turtles that were being injured on the roadsides. I secured the participation of 10 Veterinary Clinics and the Kingston Humane Society to act as ‘Temporary Holding Stations’ where the public could bring the injured and dead turtles so they could then be transported to Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in Napanee for trauma treatment, rehabilitation and egg extraction in the case where the gravid female did not survive her road trauma.

I selected Clinics that were located in the North, South, East, West and Central quadrants of the City so that the public would never be more than 10 minutes away from a clinic to transport the injured and dead turtles they had encountered. Then I solicited a team of 30 ‘Volunteer Transport Drivers’ who would be dispatched to shuttle the turtles from the Vet Clinics to Sandy Pines. There was an additional crew of drivers that were available to transport those turtles that required a level of care that Sandy Pines could not provide to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough, the only dedicated turtle hospital in North America.

The program was a huge success and very well received and appreciated by the public as previously the turtles had to be abandoned on the roadsides to die a slow and painful death of dehydration. The public who encountered the turtle were often in the position of not being able to respond to its needs because of other commitments like the pressure of getting to work or to an appointments and so could not transport the turtle to Sandy Pines which is a 20-30 minute drive west of the City.

The program had to be suspended in 2020 and 2021 because of the 'elevated human to human contact' during the pandemic. The program is scheduled to be re-launched in April of 2022.

When the program last ran in 2019, we transported 57 turtles to Sandy Pines within the hour of receiving the call, which meant the injured turtles were able to receive trauma treatment and pain medication.

For greater sensitization and awareness, I launched a ‘Bumper Sticker Campaign’. I designed and printed an ‘I Brake for Turtles’ bumper sticker with the objective that no one would be able to come to Kingston for a day without spotting at least one or more of the bumper stickers. The campaign was a huge success with the distribution of 18,000 bumper stickers to date at no cost to the public. 


The ‘Turtle Nest Protection Program’ originated from the suggestion of Mandy Karch, one of Turtles Kingston Facebook supporters who recommended contacting Lee Valley Tools Kingston to ask them to support the initiative. Thanks to the store manager, Debra Cullen, the program of constructing and selling the Turtle Nest Protectors to the public for the cost of the materials used to make them was implemented.

Turtles Kingston was launched as a ‘philanthropic’ organization so did not engage in fundraising. The monies from the sale of the Turtle Nest Protectors was donated to Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in recognition of the amazing work they do to rehabilitate the turtles and for their highly successful egg incubation program.

It is gratifying to know that when a gravely injured turtle who will not survive her injuries or a turtle found dead on the roadsides is transported to Sandy Pines, the eggs can often be extracted and incubated so that the hatchlings can be released in the waterways the mother originated from to continue her legacy enhancing the survivability of the species.

As Turtles Kingston evolved, there were unexpected journeys down roads I couldn’t imagine even existed and that required intervention. Like the issue of ‘Turtles as By catch in the Commercial Fishing Industry’. I was very glad to have influenced the Fisheries Department to implement ‘Conditions on the Commercial Fishing Licences’ in May of 2019. The Commercial Fishers now had to identify and count the species and number of turtles they were catching in their nets. They also had to adjust their equipment and attach jugs to their nets to create an air pocket for the turtles to be able to breathe until the nets were lifted and the turtles set free. On inclement days when they couldn’t attach the jugs, they had to lift their nets within a 24-48 hour period before the turtles caught in their nets would succumb to drowning.

I was convinced the reporting of turtle sightings was essential to their survivability and repeatedly pushed the use of reporting apps like the Toronto Zoos - Adopt-A-Pond- ‘Turtle Tally’ app and the iNaturalist reporting app. The data collected form reporting turtle encounters is invaluable in profiling their populations and to influence municipalities to implement mitigation measures which include the installation of exclusion fencing, eco passages and alternate nesting site.

In Nov 2018, I had been invited by Adopt-A-Pond to give a presentation at their annual ‘Appreciation Day’ and was told it was one of the best presentations they had ever had. That was a rewarding experience and confirmed I was on the right road for public education and awareness.

I have given numerous seminars to date profiling how members of the general public can get involved and make a significant difference to the viability of the turtle populations.

The Facebook page became a recognized source for educational, interesting, humorous and practical information.

Advocacy is at the forefront of the impact that Turtles Kingston has had on the conservation of the Turtle species. It is a ‘never ending story’ of issues that must be addressed to guarantee their survivability. I worked very hard at creating productive and engaging relationships with Kingston‘s City Council and the Public Works, Engineering and Planning Departments and have been involved with many development projects ensuring the welfare of the turtle populations.

Kingston is situated in the middle of a 'Provincially Significant Wetland' so you can only imagine the conflicts that arise with development initiatives and conservation efforts.

Turtles Kingston has established productive partnerships with many like organizations.

Turtles are they most imperilled vertebrate species on the planet. With the loss of one adult reproducing turtle, it will take up to 60 years for that turtle to replace itself. And with less than 1% of all turtle eggs surviving to sexual maturity, you can easily understand the challenges of survivability the turtle species is facing.

They serve us well. They are referred to as the ‘janitors’ of our wetlands and waterways because of the vast amounts of bacteria producing carrion and decaying vegetation they consume. Without them, our freshwater sources would implode with bacteria. Only 2.7% of the world's water is a freshwater source with 20% of that located in Canada. We have a moral obligation to safeguard our freshwater sources. Presently, there are more than 3 billion people on the planet that do not have access to a freshwater source.

The only thing the turtles ask for in return of this essential yet humble service, is their survival. Some palaeontologists believe that Turtles have been on the planet for more than 320 million years. It is shameful to think that in less than 50 years we have sent them down the road to their extinction. ‘Habitat loss’ is the principal cause for the decline in their populations. We have lost more than 90% of our wetlands in southern Ontario due to overdevelopment. The second highest cause is ‘Road Mortality’ followed by Poaching, By Catch in the Commercial Fishing Industry, Intentional Harm and a number of other causes.

You can easily see why the existence of grass root organizations like Turtles Kingston are essential to making a difference in the survivability of this amazing ‘keystone species’ - a species that many other species depend upon for their survival so that if something were to happen to them, it would create a domino effect down the ladder of biodiversity. Losing the turtles and other dependant species would be like trying to climb a ladder that is missing rungs. The impact of these episodes of the loss of biodiversity will undoubtedly be experienced by everyone living on the planet as it will directly affect our own survivability. Nature will always have the last word.

'Passing the hat' . . .

I made the decision earlier in the year to 'pass the hat' to Tara Bauer who came to us last year offering her service to volunteer. Tara is originally from Kingston and moved back to the City in November 2020 after an absence of 10 years. The transfer will be in effect September 1, 2021.

Tara describes herself as a 'passionate nature and turtle enthusiast'. She has pursued a career in Environmental Sciences and completed both her Bachelors and Masters in Environmental Science at the University of Guelph.

I am confident that Tara will bring her skills, experience and educational background to expand and enhance the Turtles Kingston's objectives. Onward and upward !

I am proud knowing that I realized the objectives that I established with the re-launch of Turtles Kingston. It is satisfying to know that I have implemented a viable organization that is making a difference in the conservation of the turtle populations that did not exist before.

As for me, there is a paint brush and a canvas that require further exploration.

Thank you wholeheartedly for your dedication to all of the Turtle Kingston initiatives over the past few years. None of this could have been achieved without your involvement and support. Turtles only deserve the best of who we are.

Sincerely,

Mabyn Armstrong - Turtle Lover