World Turtle Day Celebrated in India

Children from the local community assisted with the release of Batagur hatchlings into the Chambal River.

The TSA's India Program celebrated World Turtle Day on May 23 with a number of events, held concurrently across three sites. The various activities included a skit performed by children from the local community, the release of hatchling Batagur into the Chambal River, a poacher conversion workshop and other community outreach initiatives. Click here to read the full story and to see pictures from the events.

Year of the Turtle Celebrated in Bangladesh

Students held a rally and carried models of turtles and birds as part of the celebration.

The Center for Advanced Research in Natural Resource and Management (CARINAM), the TSA's partner on the Batagur baska project in Bangladesh, recently celebrated the Year of the Turtle with an event at Dhaka University. Held in collaboration with the IUCN, Bangladesh Bird Club and Priokriti-o-Jibon, the event was held in the Teacher Student Center on May 25.

The celebration included a rally by school children, presentations by conservationists, and a bird exhibition to create awareness of turtle conservation issues and to encourage people to take action and keep turtles as part of a healthy ecosystem.

Bronx Zoo AAZK Holds TSA Fundraiser

We would like to extend our thanks to the Bronx Zoo Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, who recently held a "fun"raiser to benefit the TSA. The AAZK hosted "Barnanza" - an evening of socializing that featured a dart contest at Bar East in New York City on the evening of April 11.

A 50/50 raffle was held, along with a silent auction that featured art work, photos donated by Brian Horne and turtle shell molds. The fun, one night event resulted in a $900 donation to the TSA's conservation programs. Thanks for your support!

Year of the Turtle

This month, the Year of the Turtle News highlights the work of a few of our Zoo partners and what they are doing toward turtle conservation and conservation awareness.  We provide more Citizen Science (volunteer) opportunities, and feature a Louisiana school where they've been celebrating the Year of the Turtle since the Fall 2010-Spring 2011 school year began! We also have some beautiful artwork by students at the school, as well as by Dave DeRan, one of our readers. In addition, there is a feature on turtle conservation efforts across the northwestern United States and western Canada in our Northwest PARC spotlight. Enjoy!
 
Summer is here, and it's time to soak up the sun, like the June Calendar photo subject! Congratulations to Alan Cressler for his winning calendar photo of a Florida Red-bellied Cooter, photographed at Half Moon Gum Slough in Sumter County, FL. More information about the ongoing photo contest is available at www.yearoftheturtle.org. Give us your best shot! 

Visit www.yearoftheturtle.org to find the Newsletter, calendar and photo contest information for upcoming months, the NEW Year of the Turtle Flip Cards (featuring the Top 25 most threatened turtles of the world), improved USA Turtle Mapping Project reporting forms, the Year of the Turtle screensaver and video, and our ever-growing list of partners.