Wallkill Valley Land Trust’s walk and talk about box turtles

The Wallkill Valley Land Trust’s (WVLT) annual walk and talk will take place on Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. to noon on the Smith property in Gardiner. Anne Smith, with the help of biologist Joe Bridges, will discuss monitoring the Eastern box turtle. They have been monitoring the box turtle population on the Smith property since 2005. Sixty-six individual box turtles have been found and documented and once a year, the Smiths’ invite community members to join in their search for migrating turtles in the hopes of finding more repeaters and learning more about their range.

The walk and talk includes a brief overview of the project, as well as a lesson in Box Turtle identification, followed by participants heading out to the fields to find turtles. This event is rain or shine (turtles like rain), and directions will be given upon registration with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust. Participation is limited and registration with the WVLT is required. For more information on the project, visit www.boxturtlesny.com. To RSVP, call 255-2761 or e-mail info@WallkillValleyLT.org.