WHY? TURTLES NEED YOUR HELP

The issue I am focusing on is the health of the turtle population in my community of Reston/Lake Thoreau. Turtles need to bask in direct sunlight to get calcium. If they can't get the proper amounts of calcium, then they become unhealthy and are vulnerable to diseases that can spread through the population like wildfire.

 

Over the past ten years, Reston has experienced rapid growth and become more of a metropolitan area, with apartments and office buildings being built all around places like Lake Thoreau. These buildings which prevent turtles from accessing the shore, are causing turtles to be unable to bask in the sun, causing them to become less healthy which leads to a decline in the turtle population. The loss of healthy turtles affects the entire ecosystem because the turtles eat much of the algae and play an essential role in maintaining the balance of life. The ecosystem will be more severely affected as the number of turtles decline. Unfortunately, the root cause of the declining turtle population is directly related to climate change and increased building around Lake Thoreau. Climate change has made it harder for reptiles to adapt to their surroundings because of the swings in extreme temperatures, causing both excessive heat and cold conditions. In addition to the extreme temperatures, the increasing human population and building in Reston mean more people are using Lake Thoreau. Per the 2000 US Census, the population of Reston was 56,407, while in 2019, the Reston population had increased by 9.1 % to 61,542. This population will continue to grow as more high-density buildings are constructed along with new Metro stations. As more and more people use the lake, they will continue to push turtles out of places to bask in their natural habitat, which can be seen in the decline of the turtle population. As the population continues to decline, the ecosystem at large will become less sustainable. Climate change is man-made, and by educating people they will learn how they can stop the cycle at a local level.