As a nonprofit organization, we cannot thank our volunteers enough for donating their time to our mission. Our volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and experience, but they all have one thing in common - they love turtles!
Ula, a highschool student from Ojai, learned about the TC through a school trip in middle school and has been eagerly waiting to turn 16 so she could begin volunteering with us. Ula spends her time here working with our young turtles in the nursery and helping our registrar measure and weigh our collection. Through her time here, Ula has learned about the various threats to turtles around the world and loves that she is able to help protect turtle species with us. Volunteering with the TC has reinforced her passion for conservation and the environment, and she looks forward to continuing the lessons she’s learned here during her future endeavors.
Will is a Naval Aviator and relocated from South Carolina to Port Hueneme. Growing up surrounded by native turtle species, he developed a deep appreciation for turtles. He said “When I found the Turtle Conservancy I was beyond excited to help out in any way that I could.” Will was surprised to learn that some of our tortoises enjoy being given attention and scratched on the shell. Will is a huge help to us here, spending time pampering our giant tortoises, performing enclosure maintenance, and spreading the word on turtle conservation at community outreach events.
One of the elements of our partnership with the Thacher school is a volunteer program. Each term, 7 students spend time every week volunteering at the TC as part of their community service program. Seven people can get a lot of work done in a few hours! They recently completely transformed our green house into a lush, tropical, jungle by planting a dozen large philodendrons. The species that call the greenhouse home are loving the increased plant cover!
The TC operates thanks to the generosity and hard work of our volunteers. Thank you all for choosing to spend your time here!
