On October 19th, the Turtle Conservancy team joined with the community of Ojai to celebrate one of its most historic days, Ojai Day. Originally founded as Nordhoff in 1874, the city was renamed Ojai and was re-developed by Edward Drummond Libbey. Ojai Day traces its origins back to 1917, when the citizens held a celebration in honor of Libbey’s contribution to the construction of the new Spanish-inspired architecture that is still admired today. Ojai Day continues its annual celebration with live music, local vendors, art exhibitions and dancing.

We at the Turtle Conservancy’s Conservation Center are proud to be a part of such a vibrant hometown and we took this opportunity to educate people about our mission to protect threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide. We brought along a few of the tortoises from our center to meet with our neighbors, and the children were especially interested in learning about their lives and conservation. We look forward to seeing more of you next year at this great event!