Turtle Tally Equipment Fundraiser

Hi, my name’s Suzie Simpson and I run the Turtle Tally citizen science project. I’m carrying out the research as part of my PhD at the University of Kent and work closely with the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW) based at Hadlow College in Kent. I am looking at the distribution and numbers, welfare and impacts of released pet terrapins in UK waterbodies.

In order to do this, we monitor numbers through sightings submitted by the public to our website at www.turtletally.co.uk. So please do take part! Over the years, pet owners have had little options regarding rehoming provisions. The pandemic and the current living crisis means that people are struggling financially to keep these animals as pets and have released them into local lakes and ponds. Sadly, we do not know the impacts of this both to native wildlife and to those individuals released. I would like to continue to figure that out. I am hoping to purchase hoop nets to safely capture a small sample group of terrapins to assess their body condition and welfare in the wild. These need to be purchased and shipped from the US. I’d also like to purchase more data loggers.

I’m a self funded student, mum and wife to a super supportive family who understand how much this research means to me. I work hard as a part time lecturer to try to fund my research but, as my family would say ‘You do need help sometimes!’.

Your time is greatly appreciated and thank you for taking an interest in my work.

Thanks so much!

Suzie