Nova Scotians raise money to protect vital turtle habitat

Endangered turtles in Nova Scotia have secured some new habitat thanks to a successful fundraising campaign over the holidays.

The province is home to four species of turtles, three of which are endangered. The Blanding’s turtle, which sports an endearing smile, is one of the most vulnerable. It’s estimated that just 500 of them remain, which is especially concerning due to their slow maturity rates.

So, 50 extra acres of protected habitat is key, said Anna Weinstein, communications lead at Nova Scotia Nature Trust, which secured the property. Over $70,000 was raised to purchase the land, and any extra funds that aren’t spent on the purchase will be put towards future turtle conservation efforts.

“It was like — let's do something kind of benignly uncontroversially nice and good for the holidays. So, it definitely hit people's heartstrings,” she said.

Blanding’s turtle habitat, once plentiful, is also favoured by developers and people, who build homes and businesses on lakefronts, wetlands and rivers in Nova Scotia. The Barren Meadow turtle sanctuary, which is where the new acreage lies, is on the south shore of the province in Lunenburg County, a popular tourism area.

Habitat destruction is the main obstacle for the turtles, as is traffic on roadways, which females slowly travel across to lay eggs on dry land. The reptiles, which can live up to 80 years, are listed both federally and provincially as species-at-risk.

The organization has been monitoring the population in conjunction with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute to identify what habitat is most crucial for the species' survival. This year, they monitored three females — Lumpy, Lucy, and Smoothy — who all nested and had hatchlings on Nature Trust conservation land. The hatchling survival rate for the species is only one per cent, so the group stresses that every turtle matters.

“With so few Blanding’s turtles left in Nova Scotia, their fate is truly in our hands,” says Bonnie Sutherland, executive director of the Nature Trust.

“This important addition to the Barren Meadow turtle sanctuary is crucial to the survival not just of Lumpy and her friends, but to the survival of this entire species in Nova Scotia.”

Looking forward, Weinstein said Nature Trust will continue securing more habitat for the turtles, as well as other at-risk species in the province.

“This is one great story amongst so many, and we're working on so many different types of land right now. And it's all significant for creatures, and some of them are just as cute as turtles, and some of them aren't, but they're all equally important,” she said.

“And they all need a place to live. And so, we're happy when there's something that really speaks to folks. And we hope that this is an entry point for people connecting into a kind of larger term picture too.”