February’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Malcom Fenech to support turtle conservation at Petrie Island.
Malcom Fenech. Photo: Awesome Ottawa.
“Petrie Island is a significant wetland located in the City of Ottawa,” explains Malcom, “ and home to five of eight turtle species found in Ontario—all of which are species at risk. These turtles face many threats such as habitat loss, nest predation, road mortality, pollution, and climate change.”
A community project associated with the Friends of Petrie Island, the Petrie Island Turtle Project is now in its third year. This year, the project plans on protecting eggs, identifying important habitats, assessing population size, increasing public awareness of turtle conservation, and more.
“The funds from Awesome Ottawa will be used to help purchase an incubator to effectively protect turtle eggs,” Malcom says. “Ninety-five percent of turtle eggs at Petrie Island are eaten by predators. The funds will also be used to purchase transmitters that will allow us to track turtles and identify the habitats they use.”
Malcom is a turtle biologist. This will be his third year studying and conserving turtles at Petrie Island, where he conducted his master’s thesis.
Awesome Ottawa is part of a global movement of self-organizing chapters forwarding the interest of awesome in the universe, $1,000 at a time. At each chapter, ten or so “trustees” each contribute $100 monthly and review short applications received online to decide on the recipient of the pooled funds — usually a local project, but occasionally a particularly awesome one far away from home. Over $6 million has already been awarded globally – $161,000 by Awesome Ottawa. For more information, visit awesomeottawa.ca.
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