KLT's Passport to Nature: The Wonderful World of Wetlands and Turtles

We love the wetlands and turtles of the Kawarthas and we know you do, too! Spend time at KLT’s largest nature reserve, the Hammer Family Nature Preserve in Lakehurst, to learn more about the turtles that call the Kawarthas home, the threats they face, why wetlands are important to turtles, and, in turn, why turtles are important for wetlands. Lisa Browning will share how the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre works to protect and conserve Ontario’s native turtles and how conservation organizations like Kawartha Land Trust play a role in protecting the habitats that support turtles throughout their life cycles.

Facilitator:

Lisa Browning is the Education Coordinator at Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC). Lisa has a Bachelor of Science degree from Trent University in Biology and Environmental Science and an Ecosystem Management Technology diploma from Fleming College. While completing her undergraduate degree, Lisa was introduced to the world of turtles by volunteering at the OTCC as a cleaner. During her summers, she worked with Christina Davy’s research lab, where she searched for turtles in wetlands and monitored the sky for bats. She joined the OTCC field team in 2020, to track Blanding’s Turtles for the headstart program, and was lucky enough to work on the education program as well. During 2021, Lisa joined the Adopt-A-Pond program at the Toronto Zoo, where she monitored turtle and snake populations in the Rouge National Urban Park. Having returned to the OTCC in 2022 as Education Coordinator, Lisa feels very fortunate to have had amazing mentors along the way and is passionate about sharing her love for turtles with those she meets! ontarioturtle.ca

Thank you to Cambium Consulting and Engineering for sponsoring KLT's 2025-26 Passport to Nature program and to OFAH Foundation for supporting events in our 2025-26 programming.