By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City is a town that takes its turtles very seriously.
The fictional Sara the Turtle is famously known as the town mascot, symbolizing Sea Isle’s concern for the environment.
A group called Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue acts as a protector of the diamondback terrapins that emerge from the marshlands each summer to lay their eggs in the sandy soil.
The importance of turtles is also underscored by the “Watch for Turtles” and “Turtle X-ing” signs that are scattered around the city to remind motorists to be careful about the diamondbacks lumbering across the road while searching for nesting spots.
But that’s not all. For 35 years, the Sea Isle City Environmental Commission has been selling turtle-themed T-shirts to raise money for the town’s favorite reptile and other environmental causes.
Environmental Commission volunteers will sell limited edition 2021 “Save a Turtle” T-shirts each Saturday in April from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sea Isle Community Lodge, 300 JFK Boulevard. As a safety precaution during the pandemic, shirts will be sold through the front window on the JFK Boulevard side of the building, accessible by an ADA ramp.
“Each year, they get more popular,” Annette Lombardo, who chairs the Environmental Commission, said of the shirts. “They sell themselves over the years. If you buy one, you’ll want to buy more.”
Lombardo noted that people often buy the T-shirts as stocking stuffers or Christmas gifts. Others collect them year after year.
Short sleeve shirts cost $10, long sleeves $15 and sweatshirts $35 (XXL and XXXL sizes cost $5 more per shirt), according to Sea Isle’s municipal website.
“If you sell good, quality shirts at a reasonable price, people are going to buy them,” Lombardo said. “They are very good quality. I insist on good quality. They are made in America.”
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.
The Environmental Commission also uses money from the turtle T-shirt sales to buy trees that are given away to local homeowners during a raffle. The trees help to add more greenery around Sea Isle.
