On a warm day in June 2024, Meagan Moeyaert was walking along Hastings Drive in Long Point when she spotted a heartbreaking sight – broken shells littered the ground. Raccoons had just ransacked a Painted turtle egg nest.
But something made Meagan take a second look. Nestled among the wreckage, she found a single unbroken egg. Meagan carefully placed the egg into a cushioned Tupperware container and delivered it to the hatchery at Long Point Eco Adventures, but not before giving the unlikely survivor a name: Little Nemo.
Lauren Nightingale—the Turtle Crew’s Coordinator—said that finding the egg intact was nothing short of extraordinary, “Raccoons usually clean out Snapping Turtle nests, I’ve seen them eat as many as sixty eggs.”
Waiting and hoping, a team of volunteers monitored Nemo for 8 weeks until he hatched on the afternoon of August 8, 2024. He weighed about as much as a nickel, just 4.6 grams!
Volunteers later took Little Nemo to the water’s edge and released him in a marsh where, he now “swims with his brothers and sisters.”
Little Nemo is part of a new generation waiting for spring in Long Point’s marshes, all thanks to a few people who cared enough to stop, look, and help. Volunteers from Norfolk County rescued and released 1,112 baby turtles in total. See full story here.
Want to get involved? Apply to be part of the Turtle Crew!
The Wildlife Road Watch is now recruiting volunteers for the 2025 year. You will be trained to:
- Safely help turtles cross roads
- Identify turtle nests for excavation at nesting hotspots, and
- Participate in our release program
Can’t volunteer but want to help? Join the Friends of the Biosphere mailing list to keep update to date with release events. The Turtle Crew is also grateful for financial contributions via to the Long Point Biosphere’s donation page that contributes to buying supplies for the turtles. Turtle Crew work is mostly outdoors, but there’s also a need for people to talk to visitors at the Long Point Eco Adventures’ indoor exhibit.
The hatchery project draws upon a partnership that began with over 800 citizen science observations of wildlife road crossings to identify the region’s collision hotspots are located. These observations informed the placement of wildlife underpasses (culverts), roadside fences, and artificial turtle nesting habitats.
The hatchery will continue this year with a new exhibit at Long Point Eco Adventure’s Marshview Patio. It is part of a wider Road Ecology action plan by the Long Point Biosphere Region, Long Point Eco Adventures, and Eco-Kare International. The project would not have been possible without the Turtle Crew’s incredible volunteers, the guidance of Scott Gillingwater from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, the Norfolk County Road Maintenance Crew for training in fence installation, and Animex International for the fencing itself. The hatchery has also been recognized with a grant from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for its impact on the Blanding’s turtle – a Threatened species in Ontario.