World Turtle Day

Last updated
World Turtle Day
Date May 23
FrequencyAnnual
Eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina Eastern box turtle.jpg
Eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina

World Turtle Day is an annual observance held every May 23rd. It began in 2000 and is sponsored by American Tortoise Rescue. [1] The day was created as a yearly observance to help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats, as well as to encourage human action to help them survive and thrive. [2] [3] [4] A study on the effects of biodiversity awareness days listed World Turtle Day as an example of how they increase the internet search traffic on the protected species. [5]

World Turtle Day is promoted by dressing up as turtles, wearing green summer dresses, saving turtles caught on highways, engaging in research, and adopting turtles or tortoises from rehabilitation centers. American Tortoise Rescue provides Turtle Day lesson plans and craft projects, to encourage teaching about turtles in classrooms. [6]

The term "World Turtle Day" is trademarked by Susan Tellem of Malibu, California. [7]

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References

  1. "American Tortoise Rescue Celebrates World Turtle Day May 23rd". Health News Digest. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  2. "Be Kind to Turtles, World Turtle Day is May 23". WorldTurtleDay.org. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  3. "Celebrate World Turtle Day" . Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  4. Wendy Heller (May 13, 2008). "American Tortoise Rescue Celebrates World Turtle Day May 23rd" . Retrieved March 4, 2009.
  5. Chua, Marcus A.H.; Tan, Audrey; Carrasco, Luis Roman (2021). "Species awareness days: Do people not care or are we preaching to the choir?". Biological Conservation. 255: 109002. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109002. S2CID   233836573.
  6. "How to Celebrate World Turtle Day?". Bee Bulletin.
  7. "USPTO trademark #4635425".