School is back in session and once again we have teamed up with our neighbors, The Thacher School, by incorporating turtle conservation into several class curriculums. This year the Field Biology and Conservation course has expanded to two separate sections plus an advanced class. For the duration of the school year, each student will be paired up with one of our giant tortoise ambassadors where they will be conducting weekly behavioral observations and health checks!

By the end of the year the students will have completed a conservation project that will be mentored by our education staff, Manci Rasmussen and Nathanael Stanek. The conservation projects will involve species research, water testing and behavioral studies.

On top of the Field Biology and Conservation class, The Thacher School has added a specialized elective course that is dedicated to crafting turtle basking rafts for our native turtle species, the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida). Students will be designing these rafts from scratch and the rafts will be utilized by placing them in our nearby field sites to aid in turtle population surveying by way of drones.

This program has grown beyond what we expected in 2019 when Kelly Herbinson and Tommy Hattori first proposed the collaboration between Turtle conservancy and The Thacher School. We are happy to welcome our students back and we look forward to what new opportunities the school year will bring!