Earth Ranger Owen, the Turtle Saver

Earth Ranger Owen has always loved reptiles; he even has a pet bearded dragon! Owen doesn’t just hang out with his own pet dragon though; he also sets out into his community to protect turtles.

Here’s what Owen has to say about protecting turtles “I choose to help save turtles as they have been on earth for a very long time and we need them to stay and they live in my neighborhood.”

Owen noticed that the turtles crossing the road near his home were being accidentally run over so he set out to help protect them. How do you help a turtle cross the road? Owen decided that a sign would help by letting drivers know that they need to slow down and watch for turtles. This is really important work because crossing busy roads is the biggest threat to turtles in Ontario. For nine months Owen and his parents teamed up with the Ministry of Natural Resources to prove that the area is habitat for endangered turtles. After all that hard work, we are excited to share that Owen successfully got a turtle crossing sign installed on his road on Friday, September 4.

Earth Ranger Owen is an inspiring example of someone passionate about protecting animals who is making a difference in his own community. Owen isn’t just saving turtles though, he has also taken part in lots of Earth Ranger Missions. Owen completed the Battery Blitz Mission by collecting and recycling over 100 batteries! Owen also made a bird feeder from an old milk jug as part of the For the Birds Mission and planted a garden for bees for the Pollinator Power Mission.

We asked Earth Ranger Owen why he thinks we should protect animals, here’s what he said “We want the animals to be on earth for a long time and we want our earth to be safe for our animals. If we protect the environment we can save our earth.”