Studying the impact of developing relationships on humans with turtles.

Turtle-human interactions

ABOUT THE STUDY

Students at the High School for Environmental Studies were experimented on by having a turtle in a classroom. This was to examine if a turtle had positive or negative effects on students. This includes their personal lives, academic lives, and even their emotions. A survey was sent out after six months to over 100 students. Some had the turtle in the classroom and some didn’t. After 6 months of having the turtle, it was moved to the control classroom which did not have the turtle from the beginning to observe the change. The survey was sent out again and the results were…

Findings

    • 72% of surveyed students claimed they've noticed positive progress with the turtle in the classroom.

    • Roughly 66% of those surveyed experienced a moderate to significant impact on their ability to manage their stress.

    • Students had noticed that their stress and nervousness had decreased by 8% after six months.

    • 29% of students felt they were on top of work and academics. This rate increased to 38%.

    • 28% said their confidence rates were good but increased to 49% after having the turtle.

  • The presence of the turtle increased the productivity of school work. Many students were able to see that the turtle brings a positive effect towards the students. It has helped them mentally as well. Evaluating your confidence going up and anxiety levels decreasing is credited to the turtle. Connectivity to nature has also been shown to increase as students who have spent time with the turtle also learned more about the turtle and the anatomy of the way it lives.

      • 98.4% of students felt they were extremely comfortable around the turtle.

      • Student quotes: "I have been motivated to go to class." "She is beautiful to stare at and watch swim around she doesn't smell or anything and is so cute." "The turtle made me feel more happy and made me feel more calm."

      • 80% of students enjoyed the turtle's company.

  • Having a turtle in your life brings positivity. The turtle brings calmness amongst humans and their presence brings peace. You will only be able to observe positive change throughout your daily life and find yourself to being more productive!

We all share a common question that will always have many answers to. How can we make our lives better? Start off by being around turtles! Turtles will always be there for you and will never have bad behavior. Turtles represent calmness and it is reflected amongst their owners and animal lovers who spend time with them. Turtles have allowed for humans to be more motivated in doing things that they though they couldn’t do before. Students have been more motivated to going to class, doing their classwork and homework as well. Confidence rises as you spend time with a turtle and happiness as well. So what are you waiting for? Join the Turtle Team at Prime Produce in NYC from 5:00-6:00 PM every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to tend to turtles who have been hurt, or given up on by their owners. (424 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019.) Maybe you will become a turtle lover and adopt a turtle for yourself!