Hello neighbors, friends, and advocates! In this update, I would first like to express my humble gratitude for your interest and support toward this petition and improving our local environment. Your signatures, comments, donations, and active contributions toward this cause truly reflect the spirit of this town that I am proud to call home. Be assured, it is my full intention to have our demands for Dundas Turtles addressed. I have been in contact with Sandy Shaw's office, and they have directed me to get ahold of Alex Wilson for this specific issue. However unfortunate, the various calls and emails I have sent to Alex Wilson over the past months have yet to be answered. Because of this, as a last resort, I reach out again to my community. I ask you to please email and call Alex Wilson's office on behalf of this petition. You will find in this update below, for your convenience, a suggested email and voice message, which you can read from or copy and paste to be edited as necessary. One voice is easy to be brushed aside or forgotten, but together, with tenacity, we demand recognition.
------------
Alex Wilson Emails:
ward13@hamilton.ca
Dear Alex Wilson,
My name is [Your name] and I am contacting you today as a [ Dundas/ Hamilton/ Ontario] citizen about a problem we currently face in your constituency. I am reaching out to you in concern for the welfare of our local turtles and to voice my support of the "Turtle Tunnels for Cootes in Dundas- trouble in paradise" petition currently active on change.org.
The Ontario turtle conservation reported a record number of nearly 1500 turtles in 2019 injured primarily on roadways and admitted to their care. The year 2020 did not see much improvement, still reaching over 1000 admittees, despite restrictions reducing traffic. This number does not reflect unreported deaths and injuries, so it is hard to say just how high these numbers really are. I expect, with your promises to care for our town and environment, that you agree that Dundas should lead by example and make the necessary changes so as not to contribute to these horrible statistics. Turtles are a valuable and cherished part of our ecosystem, and with less than one percent of hatchlings reaching adulthood and each turtle taking decades to reach maturity, each one unnecessarily lost to roadways is a loss deeply felt. Seven of eight Ontario turtle species are listed as AT RISK provincially and eight of eight federally. A further lack of action is simply unacceptable. As citizens, we ask you to fight for us and for the wildlife that cannot speak for themselves.
A detailed petition outlining the demands of the citizens for constructing turtle tunnels and structures can be found at https://www.change.org/DundasTurtles
I hold a personal interest in this cause because [Your comments here].
I hope you will stay true to your promises of advocating for our environment and our community and address this issue with the urgency and care we expect as citizens. (Optional, leave your contact information as well.)
Sincerely,
[ Your name]
------------------
Alex Wilson, Office number: 905-546-2714
Hello. This is a call for Alex Wilson. My name is (your name). I am contacting you today as a [ Dundas/ Hamilton/ Ontario] citizen to show my support for the "Turtle Tunnels for Cootes in Dundas—Trouble in paradise" petition currently active on change.org. It has over 1000 signatures, including my own, and I hope my call will aid in prompting action from you. I hold a personal interest in this cause because [Your comments here.]
I hope you will stay true to your promises of advocating for our environment and our community and address this issue with the urgency and care we expect as citizens. (Optionally, leave your contact information as well.)