Presented by Bill Crisp from K2C Snake Consultants, Inc
Neighborhood Woodland Box Turtle Monitoring and Education Initiative. Species of focus: Woodland Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina).
(please note that this is not a turtle collection or relocation initiative)
Are you interested in learning about one of Virginia’s reptile jewels, the Woodland Box Turtle? Looking to get involved in a fun wildlife conservation project in the comfort of your own neighborhood? This initiative allows you to do both!
My name is Bill Crisp, and I am a wildlife conservationist that has been working with turtles, snakes and other reptiles for over 25 years. The Woodland Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) holds a special place in my heart and was also my mom’s favorite animal on earth. I love these turtles so much, I spend a lot of my free time learning as much as I can about their diets, habits, predators and life cycle. Hundreds of hours each year committed to educating local communities about the importance of this turtle species and providing the knowledge/tools needed to better co-exist with them and other local native animals.
The Woodland Box Turtle is one of twenty-five beautiful turtle species in the state of Virginia. However, they are also a turtle species of concern. This is due to the destruction of habits, road fatality and collection for the pet trade. I bet you didn’t know that all box turtles are turtles, but not all turtles are box turtles! See, you have already started your journey into the fascinating world of the Woodland Box Turtle!
Initiative Details:
I have been monitoring Woodland Box Turtles in my local neighborhoods (six neighborhoods total) for more than five years and currently tracking a dozen adult males and four adult females. This past summer was the first time in five years that I documented all of them again in the same season. This is a good indication that even with impacts to their environment and destruction of habits they are still thriving. I am confident there are still a lot more box turtles to document and that’s where I need your help.
At the beginning of the 2025 spring season, I kicked off a neighborhood pilot and was able to get a couple volunteers that were excited about wildlife and learning more about box turtles. This initiative is self-paced, easy to do, doesn’t require a lot of your time and fun for the entire family to get involved together.
This initiative also will allow us to identify, monitor and track the well-being of our box turtle population within our locate neighborhoods and close surrounding areas. The data collected can be shared with other local organizations for research purposes and this also a great opportunity to learn more about these amazing animals up close.
If you are interested in participating in this initiative or just want to learn more about box turtles (and other native turtles), I will be holding an information session on Saturday March 21st, 2026, at 10a, at the at the Nokesville Fire Station, in Nokesville VA. (12826 Marsteller Dr, Nokesville, VA 20181 in Nokesville VA).
This is a free event, and you can RSVP by texting me the number of people in your party to 571-921-5771. This helps me with setup, but you can always just show up 😊.
Let’s work and learn together to help better support one of the most precious animals on the planet!
Also check out other Parties in Nokesville, Entertainment events in Nokesville.
