For Immediate Release
April 17, 2025

You Can Help Make a Difference for Reptiles at Risk this Earth Day 

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) is celebrating Earth Day with exciting news about local conservation efforts that are helping turn the tide for some of Ontario’s most at-risk reptiles. 

In 2024, our Southern Ontario At Risk Reptiles (SOARR) program had one of its most successful years yet. Thanks to dedicated staff, volunteers, and community partners, we hatched and released more than 10,000 native turtles back into the wild—including an incredible 5,000 endangered Spiny Softshell Turtles. Without our intervention, these eggs would have been lost to threats like trampling, flooding, excessive heat, predators, and invasive plants. 

Throughout the season, we also located, assessed, and protected dozens of endangered and threatened turtles and snakes, including Spiny Softshell, Spotted, and Blanding’s Turtles, along with Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes and Queensnakes. The SOARR team built new nesting, basking, foraging, and cover habitats, and installed roadside fencing in key areas to reduce reptile mortality. 

Behind the scenes, we hired and mentored early-career biologists and technicians, supported local film students in producing a documentary on the endangered Queensnake, and collaborated with landowners, small businesses, community groups, and governments to protect and restore reptile habitat across the watershed. 

“For the first time in likely over a century, the Spiny Softshell Turtle population is increasing along the Thames River,” says Scott Gillingwater, UTRCA Species at Risk Biologist. “This shows that focused conservation efforts really do work—but we still have a long way to go.” 

In 2025, we are aiming even higher. With your support, we plan to expand our incubation lab with additional equipment to protect even more vulnerable turtle eggs. We want to bring on new staff, grow our network of conservation partners, and enhance habitat protection so that turtles and snakes can thrive for generations to come. 

But we can’t do it alone. 

This Earth Day, we need your help. Your donation will directly support hands-on conservation efforts for Ontario’s most vulnerable reptiles. Every nest saved, every fence installed, every new biologist trained helps build a future where turtles and snakes are not just surviving, but thriving. 

To learn more or donate, visit thamesriverdonations.ca/protect-species-at-risk. 

Contacts: 

Scott Gillingwater, Species at Risk Biologist, UTRCA
[email protected]
519-495-0400 

Amy Bumbacco, Communications and Marketing Specialist, UTRCA
[email protected]
519-451-2800 ext. 331