Talking Turtles

Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest is home to a lot of exceptional wildlife, including the rare Blanding’s turtle, which is protected as Threatened under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Zoo New England is working to better understand and protect your local population of these rare turtles in partnership with Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, local schoolchildren who raise the turtles in classrooms, and private homeowners who find and protect nesting sites. Come learn more about these fascinating creatures, their secret lives in the swamp, why they are in need of our help, and how Zoo New England and our partners are working to protect and support the Blanding’s turtle population. You can get involved, too!

Speaker bio: Dr. Matthew Kamm is the Conservation Outreach Coordinator for Zoo New England’s Field Conservation department, where he teaches school programs, writes for blogs, scientific journals, and popular magazines, and gets really muddy following turtles through their swampy homes. He earned his Ph.D studying birds at Tufts University and worked for Mass Audubon for several years on the Breeding Bird Atlas project, among others.