Get involved in the protection and conservation of Ontario’s native turtles and their habitats in beautiful Canada!
This volunteer program is especially suitable for:
Help prevent the disappearance of turtles in Ontario! Get involved in the protection and conservation of Ontario’s native turtles and their habitats in beautiful Canada. The project accomplishes their mission by operating a “turtle hospital” that aims to treat, rehabilitate and release injured turtles and are passionately involved in researches to further conservation and doing programs to educate the public on these awesome creatures.
As a volunteer, there are a number of ways you can help! Help with the transport of injured turtles in need of quick medical attention or help with the ongoing care which includes feeding and cleaning of the injured turtles. Injured turtles usually spend up to a year in the shelter and volunteers are always needed. Your help will also be greatly appreciated in fund raising projects and outreach and educational programs.
At the project, the turtles are your number one priority and depending on your interests/skills you will be asked to do a number of tasks. Cleaning turtle tanks will be one of your main tasks so be prepared to get your hands dirty. The work can be demanding and is not for you if you are looking for an ‘easy holiday option.'
The project depends on the help of volunteers all year round. However, during the summer there are a lot of intake of turtles so this is when most of the help is needed. Depending on your skills/interests, you will be involved in a number of areas. You may be involved in:
- Cleaning turtle tanks.
- Weighing turtles to monitor health
- Feeding the turtles.
- Education presentations
- Delivering activities to group (public awareness).
- Help with fundraising activities
- General maintenance and upkeep of the project: this includes sweeping/mopping, cutting grass, tidying workspaces, preparing materials for staff and volunteers.
You will be volunteering 5 days a week for about 8 hours per day. The typical day varies on the patient load and time of the year.
During time offs volunteers have lots of opportunities to get involved in leisure time activities. In summer great hiking at the local mountains and lakes and in the winter to visit one of the local skiing areas. There are also many opportunities to see wildlife like bald eagles, squirrels, Raccoons, skunks, deer, coyotes.