My turtle rehabilitation clinic is inside an old, stripped-out school bus, affectionately known as the Turtle Bus. Depending on their size and condition, the aquatic turtles that come into my care, such as painted turtles and snapping turtles, are housed in large plastic tubs with heat lamps, filters, basking spots and UV lighting. Outdoors, within an old carport frame wrapped in chicken wire we call Turtle Hall, large stock tanks with pond pumps and filters house our largest turtles and those readjusting before release.
Turtle and Wildlife Rescue
Pet Turtle Rescue
During my first turtle rehabilitation season I “accidentally” acquired my first non-native rescue. Big Mama, a very large female red eared slider, was injured by a car. Red eared sliders are designated an invasive species in New York and, as such, cannot be returned to the wild. Faced with the choice to either euthanize her or keep her, Big Mama joined the family. Since then, I have taken in a number of non-natives who were rescued from the wild, surrendered, or found abandoned.
Educational Outreach
After a few years of wildlife rehabilitation and pet rescues, I realized the general public did not know much about turtles. I began to offer some educational outreach programs to teach both children and adults when to be on the lookout for turtles, how to help turtles across the road, what to do if they found an injured turtle, and how to be a good pet turtle keeper so we do not get more invasive species in our local waters.
Dancing Turtle Rescue
In 2021, I founded Dancing Turtle Rescue and Education Program, Inc., a charitable nonprofit to bring the wildlife rehabilitation, turtle rescue, and educational outreach programs under one organizational umbrella. I now split my days between my offerings here at Shamanic Flow and the rescue, handling both the administrative and operational aspects with the support of my board of directors.
I marvel sometimes at what that first shamanic journey inspired. When I work with the turtles I feel aligned and centered. I have, indeed, followed the turtle home.
Please visit the Dancing Turtle Rescue website to learn more about my spirit-led work with turtles.
