Arboretum celebrates box turtles

The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville will hold its fifth annual Box Turtle Day on Saturday, June 9.

The event celebrates North Carolina’s state reptile, the eastern box turtle. Visitors can watch live reptile demonstrations, make turtle crafts, and follow Shelly, the Arboretum’s resident turtle, along the Arboretum’s self-guided TRACK Trail. 

Visitors can also see live demonstrations of the turtle dogs - canines trained to help locate wild turtles so they can be tagged and studied.

All events are based out of the Arboretum’s Education Center. The celebration runs from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Here is the Box Turtle Day schedule:

10:30 a.m. – 1st Turtle Dog Program & Live Reptile Demonstration

11:30 a.m. – 2nd Turtle Dog Program

1:00 p.m. – 2nd Live Reptile Demonstration and 3rd Turtle Dog Program.

The North Carolina Arboretum is located at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville.