Do reptiles have families?

Happy Family Day!! 💚  At Adopt-A-Pond we feel like a family, and we are happy to be a part of some reptile “families” and their journeys! 🐢   Our Blanding’s turtle headstart program begins… Continue reading →

International Volunteer Day + Appreciation Day Recap

Happy International Volunteer Day! Every year, volunteers from all over Ontario submit their turtle, frog, and toad observations to the Adopt-A-Pond app/website through the Turtle Tally & FrogWatch programs. This data is crucial in gathering large amounts of information on reptiles… Continue reading →

Turtle-ly Cool Fieldwork: CALL Intern Experience

We had the pleasure of bringing four interns out in the field with us from the Climate Action Learning & Leadership (CALL) Program. They assisted us with tracking our headstart and adult Blanding’s turtles via radio telemetry and also partook… Continue reading →

National STEAM Day 2021

Today is National STEAM Day, a day that celebrates and illuminates the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Here at the Toronto Zoo, we work to connect people, animals, and conservation science to fight extinction.   As Conservation Technicians with the Adopt-A-Pond and Turtle Island Conservation programs, we are proud to be involved… Continue reading →

Do turtles really breathe through their butts?

Written By: Courtney Leermakers, Wetland Conservation Technician Megan Young, Adopt-A-Pond Conservation Steward Donnell Gasbarrini, Adopt-A-Pond Coordinator As autumn brings bright colours of orange, red, and yellow to the trees, we also know to… Continue reading →

Two Years in the Making: the rehabilitation and release of an adult Blanding’s turtle

For years, Adopt-A-Pond has performed mark-recapture surveys for turtles in the Rouge watershed, much of which is now within the Rouge National Urban Park. Despite this effort, an adult Blanding’s turtle who had never been captured before was found in 2019. While exciting,… Continue reading →

Head-start Release Day

On June 22nd, 48 of our head-start Blanding’s turtles were released into Rouge National Urban Park by our team members at the Toronto Zoo and Parks Canada. This is part of the effort… Continue reading →

World TurtleWeekend!

Sunday May 22 and Holiday Monday May 23, 2016 Main Event: Americas Wetlands 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Turtles around the world are threatened with extinction, but they are also some of the… Continue reading →

Wishing Shannon Ritchie a warm farewell

The Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Programme wishes Shannon Ritchie a warm farewell, and good luck on her new adventure into a Master of Science (MSc) program through the University of Toronto at… Continue reading →

Thank You Scanlon Creek’s Nest Builders and Tree Planters!

Thank you to everyone that participated in the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and Adopt-A-Pond – Scanlon Creek Halloween Event! Over 40 community volunteers planted trees and helped build a turtle nesting area at Scanlon Creek… Continue reading →