Hundreds attend turtle release
Hundreds of people attend Tenth Annual Turtle Release Event despite weather-related time change and light morning rain
Huron Stewardship Council co-hosted event with Ausable Bayfield Conservation to educate public about freshwater turtles and habitat they need to survive
Weather forecasts, predicting a high likelihood of heavy afternoon rain, forced organizers to change the Tenth Annual Turtle Hatchling Release from an afternoon event to a morning event. The time change, and light rains at times throughout the morning, did not deter hundreds of people from attending and enjoying the event.
Huron Stewardship Council (HSC) and Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) and other community partners hosted the turtle release on Thursday, August 28, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. noon. It took place east of Exeter at Morrison Dam Conservation Area. Admission was free. There were educational displays about land and water stewardship and local nature areas. There were also vendors, sales of merchandise including turtle T-shirts, and face painting and crafts and a painted turtle banner for whimsical social media photos, and much more.
Many attendees made donations to support turtle conservation in Ontario.
Snapping Turtle and Painted Turtle hatchlings were returned to the waters where the eggs were found after they were incubated and cared for to maximize the likelihood of survival. In advance of the event, trained personnel, with required permits, collect the turtle eggs at the site of the release and then incubate them. The eggs are not likely to hatch successfully if left on their own.
To prevent stress to the turtle hatchlings, people at the event did not handle the turtle hatchlings. People were able to see the turtles, however. They were also able to see snakes and turtles up close at the display by Reptilia.
Organizers began notifying people of the time change on Tuesday, August 26 and continued to notify people leading up to the event. It was unfortunate that a few people did not become aware of the time change in time but the decision to change to morning times turned out to be the right one: very heavy rains hit the area in the afternoon.
The turtle release event has taken place since 2016 (it was held as a virtual event in 2020 and 2021). There have been thousands of visits to the event over the years.
“It’s amazing how many people have learned about turtles at this event,” said Sheldon Paul, HSC Fieldwork Coordinator. He said the event is a great way to educate the young and the young at heart about Ontario’s eight freshwater turtle species, which are all at risk.
Ontario’s native freshwater turtles face many threats including habitat loss and road mortality (death by cars and other vehicles). Hundreds of turtles in Ontario are hit by cars each year. These could be gravid (pregnant) females looking for a place to lay eggs, or turtles looking for new habitat and mates.
People can help turtles by creating and enhancing habitat on their properties, helping turtles cross the road in the direction they are heading (when it is safe to do so), and working with their local municipalities and communities to erect turtle crossing signs and build safe passages. People can also arrange for transport of injured turtles to the turtle hospital.
Turtles are important links in food webs and provide essential ecological services, said Hope Brock, Healthy Watersheds Specialist at ABCA. Snapping turtles, for example, help to control aquatic vegetation and clean creeks and wetlands by eating algae and dead and decaying fish and other organisms. They also cycle nutrients and spread seeds which benefit other organisms.
People can protect turtles, she said, by watching for turtles on roads when driving, helping them safely cross roads in the way they are headed, protecting nests from predators, and reporting turtle sightings to community monitoring projects. Enhancing turtle habitat is also vital. “Preserving and creating habitat for turtles and other species is one of the most important things we can do to sustain our turtle species,” she said.
“There has been a huge increase in the interest in turtles and protecting turtles in our watershed, so I also want to thank people for these efforts,” she said. “Thank you for your continued curiosity, for having attended this event, and for your desire to help these at-risk animals.”
To learn more visit the Huron Stewardship Council website, and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation turtles web page, or email HSC.