Matt ellerbeck
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Matt Ellerbeck is a Turtle Conservationist based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Matt's mission is to help turtles by providing educational presentations, raising awareness of the issues they face, standing up for their rights, running conservation projects, and promoting turtle advocacy, preservation, and stewardship.
Matt has always loved turtles. Since early childhood, he has spent every summer in marshes, ponds, and swamps hoping to share time with these interesting creatures. His love for these reptiles continues to grow and today he is a committed turtle conservationist. He now devotes his time to turtles as a herpetoculturist, educator, advocate, activist, author, observer, local public figure and rehabilitator.
Due to his growing concern over declining turtle populations, Matt decided to start a turtle conservation project in 2007. In January of that year, he gave his debut turtle presentation for the Friends of Big Sandy Bay group on Wolfe Island. He has since given numerous presentations on turtles in and around the Kingston area to help educate people about these reptiles and their conservation.
To help combat turtle road mortality, he has been instrumental in getting five turtle crossing signs erected in and around the Kingston area and has given presentations specific to this issue. He has also meet with members of the Ontario Multi-species Turtles at Risk Recovery Team (OMSTARRT) to discuss recovery strategies.
Matt has also written several articles on turtles. His articles have been published in the Amherst Island Beacon, the Kingston Field Naturalist's publication, the Prince Edward County Field Naturalist's publication, the Amphibian Voice (the official newsletter of the Adopt-A-Pond program of the Toronto Zoo), the official publication of the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority, and the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre's official newsletter. He has also written articles for the DFW Turtle And Tortoise Club and Responsible Exotic Animal Ownership (REXANO). In 2008 Matt helped write and facilitate the production of an informative pamphlet and educational poster on turtle conservation for Wolfe Island's Big Sandy Bay.
Matt has also often appeared in the local media to help get his message about the importance of turtle conservation out to the public. Appearances and spots that Matt’s work has been featured in include CKWS Newswatch, CKWS Community Watch, CFRC Radio, Fly FM Radio, the Kingston This Week newspaper, the Kingston Whig Standard newspaper, Frontenac This Week newspaper, the Gazette newspaper, and the Frontenac News.
Alongside these activities, Matt is also an avid turtle watcher. During the summer months he spends much time out in the field trying to gather observations of turtles. These observations are sent to Ontario Turtle Watch and the Ontario Turtle Tally. In May 2007 Matt recorded over 80 sightings of Northern Map Turtles at an undisclosed location. This population of Map Turtles was not well known. These observations are very important as this species of turtle is federally listed as a Species At Risk by the Committee On The Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
In June 2007 Matt recorded numerous sightings of the threatened Blanding's Turtle at an undisclosed location. According to Ontario Turtle Watch, this was the first record of these turtles at the location. Matt was more than elated to find out that he has recorded a previously undocumented population of a threatened species! In July, he returned to the location to release three baby Blanding's turtles back into the wild. In 2008 Matt tallied 190 turtle observations within the month of April alone. Included in these were several observations of Species At Risk.
Photographs of Matt's turtle observations were contributed to a 2007 study on variation in the three taxonomic characteristics of painted turtles across southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec.
Never being one to shy away from helping turtles in any situation, Matt has helped rescue countless turtles from homes that could no longer accommodate them. Some of these were indigenous species, which were released back into the wild. For Matt, these releases were extremely rewarding. The large majority of these rescue turtles, however, were exotic species, all of which Matt has placed in good homes. In some cases Matt's indoor pond has become that loving home.
Matt is committed to continuing his efforts to help turtles, with many turtle presentations planned and through a heavier emphasis on turtle stewardship projects.
reference: www.turtleconservationist.co.nr
