Around 11 a.m. on a recent Thursday, I found myself feeding a stalk of celery to a several-hundred-pound giant tortoise. He and his prehistoric-looking brethren moved at a glacial pace, inching toward the snacks. Tortoises don’t have teeth, I learned, and they also don’t have great depth perception, so it’s imperative to let go of the celery before their ferociously sharp, beak-like mouths clamp down on your hand. No pressure.
The feeding took place at the end of a tour at the charming Turtle Conservancy in Ojai, which is home to some 550 turtles. Located a few miles away from the Ventura County town’s idyllic main drag in a quiet residential area, the Turtle Conservancy has been steadily working to save turtles and tortoises for 20 years.
Lately, that mission has received renewed attention as the town undergoes something of a small restaurant and hotel boom. The conservancy is very much in the zeitgeist; in August, the Los Angeles Times included it in a roundup of “new” things to do in the quietly booming town.
But there is a catch: This nonprofit isn’t open to the public. So, unless you’re a donating member — or you stay at the Ojai Valley Inn or the Hotel El Roblar, which can both arrange tours for guests who are expected to offer a donation — it’s inaccessible…