In 2023, Ganawenim Meshkiki continued its partnership with the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC), providing a grant of $25,000 to support their conservation efforts in the Eastern Georgian Bay Region. The funding has played a crucial role in OTCC’s mission to strengthen and preserve Canada’s native turtle population and their habitats. The collaborative projects focused on rehabilitating injured at-risk turtles, releasing them into source wetlands, and engaging in various conservation activities.

The rehabilitation efforts at OTCC in 2023 saw the admission of 1918 injured turtles, marking the busiest season to date. A total of 3423 turtles were successfully released back into their home wetlands. The dedicated team of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and volunteers, including 1266 turtle taxi volunteers, contributed over 29,227 km of travel to transport injured turtles to the hospital in Peterborough and release them back to their habitats.

A unique aspect of OTCC is its role as the only accredited hospital dedicated to Ontario’s native turtles, providing full veterinary oversight and acting as a teaching and referral hospital for other rehabilitation centers in the province. Disease surveillance, especially for Ranavirus and Herpesvirus, remained a crucial component of their strategy, contributing valuable knowledge to protect turtle populations from infectious diseases.

The egg incubation and “Headstarting” program focused on collecting and incubating eggs, with 3182 hatchlings to date. This initiative not only saves eggs that would otherwise be lost but also provides hatchlings with a head start before releasing them back to their mother’s wetlands, thereby increasing their chances of survival and contributing to population augmentation.

Field studies involved radiotracking post-released Blanding’s turtles, comparing their behaviour and growth with wild-hatched counterparts. The long-term research project, now in its 12th season, aims to determine best practices for headstarting and assess the turtles’ contribution to the subadult and adult populations.

Education and stewardship were integral to OTCC’s approach, reaching 8568 individuals through 309 events, including virtual and face-to-face programs. Their educational initiatives, such as the “Turtle encounter” and “Wildlife Conservation Through the Ages” program, aimed to raise awareness and inspire stewardship. Additionally, the establishment of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Network in partnership with Parks Canada facilitated the sharing of turtle conservation knowledge among various stakeholders.

The funding received has helped support OTCC’s ongoing conservation work, addressing challenges in turtle rehabilitation and supporting the transition to a new state-of-the-art turtle hospital in 2024. The continued support is crucial for sustaining day-to-day operations and programming.