The eastern Georgian Bay region is comprised of a mosaic of Canadian Shield rock barrens, upland forests, and wetlands of various sizes, each having potentially unique surface energy budgets. Rock barrens represent distinct zones of large ground heat flux, resulting from the sparsity of vegetation cover and the high thermal conductivity of the granite. In addition to large vertical fluxes of energy within the rock profile, heterogeneity in surface cover can result in significant redistribution of heat laterally, particularly to/with small landscape units embedded within a larger rock barren landscape. The movement and absorption of energy through the substrate can have an impact on nesting habitat of the various turtle species-at-risk (SAR), where typical nesting habitat consists of small moss cushions or lichen mats on shallow soil in the eastern Georgian Bay region. Many species have temperature-dependent sex determination, which is related to how much energy the egg receives. As the climate continues to warm, the potential impacts on energy transfer, and thus sex ratios, is of conservation concern and therefore imperative to understand the energy dynamics in nesting habitat. This work presents the ground heat flux budget for a rock barren, and for turtle nests, and discusses its implications on the surrounding environment and SAR reptile habitat.