The Long Tom Watershed Council is hosting its first outdoor tour of 2020 in partnership with WREN (Willamette Resources & Educational Network). This two-part educational opportunity will include a limited attendance tour at Golden Gardens Park on September 22 from 9 - 11 a.m., and a follow up series of short virtual videos available October 20th. City of Eugene ecologist Lauri Holts will take participants on a tour to learn about western pond turtle life history and conservation while walking this city park in northwest Eugene. Western pond turtles are one of two native turtle species in Oregon, yet these reptiles are rare and dwindling. Learn about how to identify native and non-native turtles, threats to pond turtles, and conservation efforts to improve their habitat. Attendees / viewers will also learn about an exciting opportunity to engage in citizen science by reporting turtles sightings through the iNaturalist app! A special thank you to Robin FitzClemen, who is generously sharing his short western pond turtle documentary, which includes interviews from several local experts, for the October 20th video series. Tour limited to 8 participants who will be selected through a random lottery; registration required. Video series is free and will be available for all to view Oct 20. More information and to register: http://www.longtom.org/turtletales/.