KIDS FOR TURTLES

PROJECTS

Our focus the first year was to create community awareness of reptiles and amphibians, via presentations featuring live snakes and turtles. In 2006, Kids for Turtles erected twelve turtle crossing signs, to alert the public to the presence of local reptiles and amphibians.  In 2007, we added a focus on vernal pools and the ecosystems found there, with an emphasis on frogs and salamanders and erected 45 more turtle crossing signs. Tree planting, garbage clean up, and invasive species education are some of the other projects we implemented in 2007 and, in 2008, we also planted butterfly gardens and hosted Orillia's First Annual Mariposa Butterfly Festival.

On Saturday, January 10, 2009 , 23 children and 24 adult members of volunteers of Kids For Turtles Environmental Education met at the Home Depot store in Orillia for the Winter Bird House and Feeder Workshop. Every young participant built a bird house from a kit provided by Home Depot which they were able to take home with them. They then helped build four large winter bird feeders which will now be painted and mounted along the trail in Tudhope Park Orillia then filled with sunflower seeds. The members will then study and record the winter birds visiting the feeders this winter. Kids For Turtles is also planning Walking Wednesdays and Snowshoeing Sundays along the trail and pass the bird feeders this winter in order to get families more active and communing with nature. The group now has 12 children and 6 adult pairs of high-tech snowshoes and will be planning several winter outings. Thanks for Good For Life for supporting the purchase of the children snowshoes and the families of Steve Clark and Bob Bowles for contributing towards the purchase of the adult snowshoes.

Kids For Turtles would like to thank Jen Ball of Orillia Home Depot for organizing the bird house and bird feeder building workshop and Michael Cox of Scotts Canada Ltd. for supplying the sunflower seeds to the feeders this winter.

Kids For Turtles will also be holding the Mariposa Butterfly Festival again this year on June 27th and 28th. This event was attended by over 1,000 people last year so this year it is being extended to two days with crafts and displays the first day and butterfly counts and gardens the second day. Plan to attend this great event this year. Also in late summer Kids For Turtles will be holding their first Orillia Dragonfly Festival on Saturday, August 29th. Plan to attend this event to learn more about these fascinating creatures. These are just a few of the many events and activities that Kids For Turtles have planned for the community and their members.