Twelve community members came together in the Barossa for the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board's first TURTLE project event, learning how to identify and record freshwater turtle activity across the region.

With support from the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board and turtle expert Mike Thompson, the session covered turtle habitat, breeding behaviour and how the TurtleSat App can be used to record sightings. Participants then explored dams to look for potential habitat features and shared their own stories of past turtle observations. The event also highlighted how the TURTLE project connects with other local projects, including fish surveys through the Environmental Cultural Flows project and waterbug monitoring through the Bioblitz and Waterwatch program.

The TURTLE project will run from 2025–2027, helping to build a better understanding of the health of Barossa’s water-dependent ecosystems. It is funded by the South Australian Government’s Landscape Priorities Fund. Landholders and community members who spot turtles or signs of activity are encouraged to record sightings through the TurtleSAT App to help build this important database.

This article was originally published in the Northen and Yorke Landscape Board's Yakka eNews and was published here with permission.