Move over, Uber. The Turtle Taxi is here.

Across Ontario, thousands of passionate volunteers are coming together to build a vital emergency transportation network with one goal — saving turtles. Their destination? Peterborough’s Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC), home to the province’s only wild turtle hospital, which is accredited by the College of Veterinarians of Ontario. At the centre, veterinary teams provide urgent care and rehabilitation for turtles injured in vehicle strikes, stranded, or harmed in encounters with other wildlife, among other life-threatening situations. When possible, volunteers transport eggs from deceased female turtles, which can sometimes be incubated, hatched, and released into the wild. The OTCC calls this volunteer work the “Turtle Taxi.”

Because Ontario’s native turtle species are spread across the province, transporting an injured turtle to the OTCC often requires a precarious, multi-thousand-kilometre journey by land or air. Helping them get there is a network of more than 1,500 volunteers who work together to ensure turtles get the help they need.

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Wayne Harvey, a pilot and Turtle Taxi volunteer, has completed multiple flights to pick up turtles across the province. Flying to places like Dryden, Ont., from his home near London, Ont., Harvey offers a faster route for many injured turtles that would otherwise face a journey of more than 1,500 kilometres. He keeps an eye out for calls from the OTCC requesting help with turtle transports. When a call comes in, he plans his route and can make up to four such trips a year.

“If I see a few places that I know have small airports, I’ll offer to pick them up at, say, three or four airports,” Harvey says. At each stop, local volunteers meet him with turtles in individual carriers, which are secured for the flight. These volunteers often include local turtle First Responders, many of whom are veterinarians and veterinary technicians, who can help stabilize the animals before they depart.

Pilot Isaiah Frazao also donates his time. This past summer marked his first season transporting injured turtles across the province. He says the volunteer experience has given him a sense of purpose and fulfilment, as well as a deeper connection with wildlife. “Turtles are very quiet animals,” Frazao says. “But, once we bring them to Peterborough, and they see all the OTCC representatives, they come right out of their shells.”

Pilot Isaiah Frazao with his turtle passenger. (Photo Courtesy of Laura Eley)

This network of support couldn’t come at a more crucial time for turtles. All eight of Ontario’s native freshwater turtle species are considered at risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), an independent panel of scientists and experts that assesses species at the national level. Vehicle strikes, habitat loss and nest predation are among the biggest threats. These pressures are compounded by turtles’ long maturation and low reproduction rates.

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For Turtle Taxi volunteer Kelly Holman, an interest in spotting wild turtles sparked her curiosity about the network. “I would go for walks through these conservation areas and see a whole bunch of painted turtles basking, and it was the best part of my day,” she says. Now based in Arkona, Ont., Holman coordinates with other Turtle Taxi volunteers to transfer turtles along their journey to the OTCC, often meeting at public locations such as parking lots.

Volunteers also play a critical role in releasing turtles back into the wild after they’ve recovered. It’s important to return turtles to the same areas they were found. “We use coordinates given to us by the Centre, but then you also have to rely on your phone having service and the conditions,” says Holman. When wetlands have dried up, she sometimes has to get creative to find a suitable release site while also closely following OTCC and governmental regulations.

Turtle Taxi volunteers Dean and Sharon Davidson, based near Owen Sound, Ont., consider releasing turtles back into the wild one of the highlights of their work. “Some like running water, some like quiet water, some like it weedy, some like it muddy,” says Dean. Working with OTCC to find suitable release sites can also offer opportunities to engage private landowners, who may agree to let turtles be released in waterways on their properties. This can help foster a great sense of community involvement in turtle conservation.

Turtle Taxi volunteer Dean Davidson releases baby snapping turtles into the wild. (Photo courtesy of Laura Eley)

The OTCC is part of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Network (OTCN), which aims to expand the reach of turtle education, research and conservation efforts.

Leora Berman is the founder of Haliburton-based Turtle Guardians, which is also an OTCN member. She helps to integrate turtle educational programs and training for young people and those who work near Ontario’s roadways. Turtle Guardians’ Road Researchers Program advocates for safer turtle crossings and nesting areas, particularly during migration and nesting seasons.

“Turtles cross between wetlands primarily but other turtle crossings are very random… so you’ve got hundreds and thousands of kilometres of [potential] turtle crossings,” Berman says. She adds that culverts and fences could help save turtles from vehicle strikes by directing them away from roadways.

As for what motivates people to help? Berman and Turtle Taxi volunteers see turtle conservation as a “very reciprocal way to live” and something that allows individuals to embrace their place in the wider community. “It connects you to the Earth, and creation, and also the next generations,” says Berman. “Turtles get under your skin in ways that are unexpected. There is something incredibly healing or awakening about the sentience of animals when you can hang with one that doesn’t move very fast.”

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Laura Eley is a Toronto-based writer who shares stories about nature, wildlife, community, and the deep ties that connect us to place.