April 10th is officially Gopher Tortoise Day across all of the 6 southeastern states where you can find gopher tortoises. This day was started with the goal of increasing awareness and appreciation for this unique and important reptile. Keep reading to learn more about how this day was celebrated across different states in 2022.

Florida Gopher Tortoise Day 2022

By Jackson Alford, FWC Wildlife Conservation and Management Intern

Gopher Tortoise Day is a yearly celebration on April 10th that was created to help raise awareness for the gopher tortoise and the plights it currently faces. Since its founding in 2016, Gopher Tortoise Day has annually been home to numerous gopher tortoise-related events, and this year was no different. Below are some highlights of just a few of the numerous events that occurred in Florida this year.

At Turkey Creek Sanctuary in Palm Bay, Gopher Tortoise Day was celebrated through educational presentations and tours of gopher tortoise habitat. At Johnathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, a special educational program taught the public about this remarkable reptile; participants learned about the gopher tortoise’s diet, habitats, and their burrows, which play a huge role in upland Florida ecosystems by providing shelter for over 350 commensal species! Attendees also learned about burrow scoping and were even able to see a tortoise inside of a scoped burrow! Another event was held at Mackle Park in Marco Island. This event included activities for all ages, which ranged from educational presentations to a child-sized interactive model of a gopher tortoise burrow! Attendees of this event also had the chance to meet some gopher tortoises.

The excitement surrounding this year’s Gopher Tortoise Day was also present on social media, with many entities posting about this special day. Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve in Jacksonville counted down to Gopher Tortoise Day with a series of five Facebook posts, each covering a different gopher tortoise fact. The Florida Aquarium in Tampa hosted a Facebook Live event, in which one of their animal care specialists covered some aspects of the natural history of the gopher tortoise and its ecological importance.

As this year’s Gopher Tortoise Day season draws to a close, it is a good time to remember that helping gopher tortoises does not have to be limited to Gopher Tortoise Day. There are many activities that you can do every day to help gopher tortoises. Some great examples include:

• Volunteer to help improve known gopher tortoise habitat
• Spread awareness about gopher tortoises
• Design your yard to be gopher tortoise friendly

By helping gopher tortoises throughout the year, we can make sure every day is Gopher Tortoise Day!

To discover more about how to make your yard more gopher tortoise friendly and how you can celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day year-round, please visit the Gopher Tortoise Friendly Yard Recognition Program webpage and the Gopher Tortoise Day Website!

 Inaugural Gopher Tortoise Day at the Mobile Botanical Gardens

The Mobile Botanical Gardens and the Urban Ecology service-learning class at the University of South Alabama planned and hosted an incredibly successful Gopher Tortoise Day event on April 23, 2022. The event included educational activities and trivia, food and drinks, and a silent auction where guests could win naming rights to the tortoises that have been captured, tagged, and released in the Mobile Botanical Garden's longleaf pine forest. Proceeds from the auction, food sales, and other donations raised just over $3,000, which will be used to redesign and renovate educational exhibits and materials about longleaf pine forests at the gardens. 

Help Us Spread the Word about Tortoises and Gopher Tortoise Day

GTC is thankful for the involvement and actions of so many amazing individuals and local organizations in supporting and promoting Gopher Tortoise Day each year. We hope these stories inspire you to plan your own shell-ebrations for next year. You can find more resources on how to get involved in Gopher Tortoise Day activities, including how to encourage your city, county, or local municipality to officially adopt April 10th as Gopher Tortoise Day, at https://gophertortoisecouncil.org/education-outreach/65-gopher-tortoise-day. Check out more news from Gopher Tortoise Day events across the range by following us on Facebook and Instagram, and be sure to tag GTC to let us know how you're celebrating in the future!