By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City is so passionate about the native diamondback terrapins that emerge from the marshlands each summer to lay their eggs that it created “Sara the Turtle” as the official town mascot years ago.
Yes, the fictional turtle mascot is a bit of kid-friendly whimsy, but it also symbolizes Sea Isle’s seriousness about preserving the seashore environment.
For 35 years, the city’s Environmental Commission has been selling turtle-themed T-shirts to raise money for the town’s favorite reptile and other environmental causes.
The newest iteration of the T-shirts went on sale Monday and for the very first time the Environment Commission is also selling turtle-themed baseball caps this year as part of its fundraising goal of $5,000.
Emblazoned with a “Save a Turtle” logo, the white T-shirts are available at the Sea Isle City Welcome Center at 300 John F. Kennedy Boulevard. They cost $10 each for short sleeve shirts and $20 for long sleeves. Hats are $20 each.
“A lot of people buy them as stocking stuffers and Christmas presents,” said Annette Lombardo, who has been a member of the Environmental Commission for 30 years and has served as its chair for the past 20 years.
Sea Isle plans to begin selling its holiday-themed beach tags, which are good for the 2022 summer season, on Nov. 15. Lombardo noted that over the years, people will buy the holiday beach tags and attach them to the turtle T-shirts for extra special gifts.
As is the custom, the T-shirts are expected to sell out. Typically, about $5,000 worth of shirts are sold throughout the year to raise money for the commission’s environmentally friendly programs.
Part of the money goes to help build diamondback terrapin nesting boxes located outside behind the library at 4800 Central Avenue. The boxes provide a safe haven for the turtles and are overseen by the Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue organization, which is run by Steve and Susan Ahern, members of the Environmental Commission.
Proceeds from T-shirt sales also support the Environmental Commission’s family-friendly educational beachcombing tours that focus on the Jersey Shore’s ecosystem and marine life.
Children taking the summer tours are given some environmentally themed goodies, including shell-collecting plastic buckets, a coloring book decorated with marine life and a beachcomber bracelet.
Each year, 10,000 coloring books are handed out each year, including 3,000 that are donated to teachers to use as a fun tool for classroom instruction on the environment.
The Environmental Commission also uses money from the turtle T-shirt sales to buy 30 trees that are given away for free to local homeowners during a raffle. The trees help to add more greenery around Sea Isle.
Normally, 2,000 T-shirts are sold. However, supply-chain problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic limited the commission to 1,100 shirts for the initial order this year. A second order of 800 shirts is planned, Lombardo said.
The commission first tried to order three different shades of green for the T-shirts, then two different shades of yellow and then three different shades of blue. Each time, it ran into supply-chain problems. Finally, it was able to place an order for white shirts.
“We couldn’t get the full order, so that’s why we went to white,” Lombardo said.
In addition to the T-shirts, more than 300 turtle-themed caps are expected to be sold.
Lombardo credited Sea Isle’s legendary late public relations director Irene Jameson for igniting the city’s ongoing love affair with diamondback terrapins by coming up with the idea for Sara the Turtle as the town mascot years ago. Jameson’s late husband, John, an artist, also got involved by creating the turtle design on the T-shirts.
“She named the turtle Sara,” Lombardo said of Irene Jameson. “It’s Sea Isle’s mascot. Everybody has adopted the turtle. “It (the fanfare) got bigger and bigger – even though it’s a tiny turtle.”
