We may not have wild pandas and snow leopards, but New England is full of regionally endangered and threatened plants and animals. To maintain and restore the diversity of our natural heritage, we need to intelligently and actively help many of our rare wild neighbors. Come and learn about hands-on projects, in which Massachusetts school children and adults are helping us protect rare species, with a focus on our threatened freshwater turtles. (Photo: [Turtle Conservancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Conservancy "")) Visit [Grassroots Wildlife Conservation](http://www.grassrootswildlife.org/ "") to participate in protecting the state's endangered species in your own backyard.
Bryan Windmiller, holds a PhD in biology and a Master's degree in Environmental Policy, both from Tufts University. He has worked as a consulting wildlife ecologist since 1987. Bryan's research interests include: assessing the impacts of residential construction on vernal pool amphibian populations, the conservation of Blanding's turtles in Concord, Massachusetts, and the ecology of amphibian populations exposed to the emerging fungal disease, chytridiomycosis.