Adopt A Pond
361A Old Finch Ave M1B 5K7 Toronto, ON, Canada

What happens when a turtle is hit by a car? Some lucky turtles live to tell the tale! This adult female Blanding’s turtle was hit by a car in 2019 and has made an amazing recovery due to the hard work of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. We were thrilled to see her return to her home wetland this summer! https://adoptapond.wordpress.com//two-years-in-the-making/

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science from your Adopt-A-Pond team! Adopt-A-Pond is proud to have some amazing #HERpers on our team, both past and present, who have contributed their knowledge, skills, and passion to the conservation of wetland habitats, and the turtles, frogs, and snakes that live in them! We're also very lucky to partner with many other #WomenInSTEM and we want to shell-ebrate you all! Thank you for all of your contributions!

New blog post alert on how Adopt-A-Pond monitors and mitigates road mortality! Are you interested in learning more about our monitoring and mitigation work? We're inviting Rouge National Urban Park locals to get project updates and learn how you can help local herptile species at risk. Join our Zoom presentation next Tuesday February 16th at 6:30 PM by registering here: https://bit.ly/3aSx73h

Are you interested in the projects that Adopt-A-Pond has in the local Toronto Zoo area? Join our virtual update session to find out more about our monitoring projects and how you can help protect the species at risk herptiles in your back yard! Register through the Zoom link to attend!

Ribbit, Ribbit!

Happy World Wetland Day, everyone! It was a cool and quiet day to be out on Weston Pond, but don't be fooled, there is a lot going on both above and below the ice of this wetland! Weston Pond is the result of a great partnership between the Toronto Zoo and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The wetland was restored so that the Toronto Zoo, situated in the Rouge Valley and surrounded by so much wildlife, can be a living part of its surroundings. This wetland is impor...tant habitat for frogs, toads, turtles, swans, ducks, mice, squirrels, and many other animals. This restoration was made possible by funding through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Land Stewardship and Habitat Restoration Program, and Environment Canada’s National Wetland Conservation Fund.

We suggest doing as the turtles do, and enjoying some restorative yoga on this fine Sunday! Is there a better way to recover from all of the candy consumed last night?

Tune in with Taylor to learn more about the cultural significance of turtles through his sharing of Indigenous Turtle Teachings!

Zoo conservation programs are under siege, but habitat destruction goes on. Wildlife can’t wait for us to figure this out - Beth Gilhespy, Executive Director of the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy

Check out this good news story on the successful conservation of the Spiny Softshell Turtle- a very unique species in Ontario!

As always, if you're shopping for a new pet, please do your research and consider adopting!

Did you know that Adopt-A-Pond monitors snakes, frogs, AND turtles in Ontario?! Watch this video to learn about critical habitat for snakes, one unique way that we can detect them on the landscape, and where they hang out for the cold winter months. Enjoy!!

Check this article out to learn about all of the great work going on at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre , the ONLY rehabilitation organization in Ontario that is exclusively dedicated to turtles!

Mark your calendars- Adopt-A-Pond is taking over @TheTorontoZoo Facebook Live videos at 1pm every Thursday in November! Here is Megan, sharing information about our app from last week. Leave us a comment with the reptile/amphibian/wetland topic that you would like to see us explore next!! https://www.facebook.com/237551556281297/videos/410778623631663

We are thrilled to have had SO many orders come in for our reptile and amphibian resources recently!! We have been busy packing up ID guides, books, turtle crossing signs, and posters for families, Government of Ontario staff, Environmental Consultants, students, Naturalist Clubs, and everyone in between! Would you like to get in on this?! Send an email to [email protected] to get more information!

#fridayfunny https://www.facebook.com//a.114151751946/3905741612787253/

In honour of Treaties Recognition Week, Adopt-A-Pond would like to acknowledge the land where we operate and complete fieldwork is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit and the Williams Treaty signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.

What do humans, turtles, ducks, snails, frogs, insects, and snakes have in common? Whether it's for habitat, drinking water, or recreation, we ALL rely on wetlands! The WWF has recently updated the Canadian Watersheds Report, which can be found at the link below. You can also use the interactive tool to find out what watershed you live in, and to read about its health and the threats that it faces:

Happy #WorldAnimalDay!

The Toronto Zoo has opened it's VIRTUAL doors!! Whether you are near or far, check out these new experiences: - Taking a 30-minute virtual guided tour of a region of the Zoo including additional time for questions and answers in our Zoo - Connectionz virtual experience. - Visiting for a 10-minute Virtual Meet & Greet with your favourite animal including time for questions and answers. - Creating a customized message from the Zoo to the person of your choice with our Zoo Sh...out Outz (great for birthdays, holidays, announcements, etc.). - Going behind-the-scenes to see what the Zoo Staff are doing to protect and conserve wildlife and wild places on one of our limited-edition Behind the Zoo virtual experiences. http://www.torontozoo.com/zootoyou

Canadian biodiversity illustrated! Ever wonder how freshwater turtles absorb oxygen when they’re under water? ... Find out on this poster illustrated by Stéphane Poirier. Download the #SciLit posters www.ScienceLiteracy.ca/library/ . Microfiches NSERC / CRSNG Canadian Wildlife Federation

Snapping turtles are making use of culverts to catch fish! River herring were attacked by snapping turtles on 79% of approaches, with a 15% capture rate These findings suggest that anthropogenic barriers like culverts that are designed to allow passage may create predation opportunities by serving as a bottleneck to resident and migrant fish movement.... Read more here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/d/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0218

It's not too late to submit your turtle, frog, and toad observations! Download the Adopt-A-Pond app TODAY to participate! Perks include: - learning about the natural world - contributing to data that is used by management biologists when making decisions that affect species-at-risk - receiving an invitation to the (virtual) Volunteer Appreciation Day coming up in November! - having FUN with your family and friends while protecting species!

Higher temperatures are on their way this weekend. There might still be turtles moving to their overwintering sites. Be on the lookout for these last minute travelers. If you see them on the road, and it is safe to do so, help them across in the direction they were headed!

The Toronto Zoo has a whole team dedicated to reproductive sciences, who explore and use novel techniques to conserve species-at-risk! Check out this video to learn from Keeper Rick and research coordinator Paula about how we determine the sex of snakes!