Save Our Wild Blanding's Turtles

My high school students in the Mid-Hudson Valley love learning about wildlife, and they especially love getting outside to help save an animal from local extinction. On the first day of school, my students get to meet our locally threatened Blanding's turtle hatchlings from our school's wetlands. Upon returning them to their wetland homes, my students often remark, “Wow, I never knew this was here!”  When they put their waders on, they enter a world that is foreign to most of them. They squeal with delight as the water pressure squeezes their legs and, when they see their first Blanding's turtle, it is magical. They realize they don't have to go to far off placers like Madagascar or the Great Barrier reef to see environments in peril and to help save a species from local extinction.

This project brings together students, educators,  wildlife professionals and community volunteers to preserve a locally rare, threatened species. The Blanding's turtle needs our continued help. We have been monitoring our local turtle population and protecting their nests for over 20 years. The project has limited funding and relies heavily on volunteers. This field season we are in desperate need of new essential turtle tracking equipment, such as radios, transmitters, and motion-sensing cameras, and supplies, such as bug spray, rubber gloves, headlamps and batteries.  Your support will enable this species to survive and will also encourage the next generation of wildlife conservationists.