By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
It’s getting to be turtle time in Sea Isle City.
Tiny turtle hatchlings from last year are already emerging from their winter hibernation.
Soon, the adult female diamondback terrapins will be out and about in search of nesting areas for their eggs in an annual ritual.
Hoping to keep the terrapins safe from road traffic, Sea Isle’s Environmental Commission has a simple, but powerful, three-word reminder for drivers: Watch for Turtles.
The commission is reinforcing that message by selling new “Watch for Turtles” lawn signs for $5 each. Altogether, 100 signs will be up for sale on Saturday, May 6, at Sea Isle’s annual Community Day celebration, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Community Lodge next to the Welcome Center on John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
“If you put one on each lawn, you will have quite a few,” Annette Lombardo, chairwoman of the Environmental Commission, said of the cumulative effect of spreading the signs around town.
After the summer turtle nesting season is over, the signs can be stored away until it is time to bring them out for next year, Lombardo noted.
“They are of very good quality,” she said.
This is the first year that the Environmental Commission is selling the yellow and black Watch for Turtles lawn signs. The commission was inspired by similar signs that line the roads in neighboring Strathmere, Lombardo said.
The signs feature the same black and yellow design as the turtle banners that the Environmental Commission places each year at Sea Isle’s playground on JFK Boulevard, the Dealy Field athletic and recreation complex and at the north end of town near the border with Strathmere.
Proceeds from the sign sale will help fund a new turtle nesting box near the marshlands at Second Street and Landis Avenue. It will be similar to two existing turtle nesting boxes overlooking the marshlands behind the Sea Isle City Library at 4800 Central Avenue.
Covered with netting to keep out predators such as foxes and raccoons, the sandy boxes provide a safe haven for the turtles to lay their eggs. They are overseen by the Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue organization, which is run by Steve and Susan Ahern, members of the Environmental Commission.
Sea Isle is well-known for its efforts to protect the female diamondback terrapins when they emerge from the marshlands, generally from May to July, in search of sandy soil in which to lay their eggs. The slow-moving turtles often cross the local roadways – with potentially deadly consequences when they venture into traffic.
“Watch for Turtles” and “Turtle X-ing” signs are already scattered around town along the roadways to alert motorists. Now, there will also be Watch for Turtles lawn signs to spread the message.
For more than 35 years, the Environmental Commission has also been selling turtle-themed T-shirts to raise money for the town’s favorite reptile and other environmental causes. The cost is $10 per T-shirt. They can be purchased at the Sea Isle Welcome Center.
The Environmental Commission also uses money from the turtle T-shirt sales to buy 30 trees that are given away to local homeowners during a raffle. The trees help to add more greenery around Sea Isle.
“We do this for the beautification of Sea Isle, the environment and to help clean the air,” Lombardo said of the benefits of planting new trees around town.
The winners of this year’s tree raffle will be announced Saturday, June 3, during a random drawing at Sea Isle’s Green Fair in Excursion Park. The trees are free and will be planted by a landscaper on Sea Isle properties at no cost to the homeowner.
Winners will have their choice of three types of trees: limelight hydrangea (lime green/cream/pink flowers), crepe myrtle (pink flowers, July to September), or little gem magnolia (green all year; flowers spring to late fall).
“We found that they are the most popular trees, so we are staying with them,” Lombardo said.
Raffle entries are available through June 3 at the Welcome Center, 300 JFK Boulevard, and online at Welcome to the Official Website of Sea isle city, NJ – Environmental Commission (seaislecitynj.us).
