There’s a lot you’ll want to know about mama turtles, Suzi Fox informed me on our introduction to one another in 2006.
Fox schooled me on “a lot” over the years, as I covered Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, the nonprofit she mothered, nurtured over many years.
Fox, who died in 2022, was the longtime director of AMITW. She’d teach anyone she encountered about mama sea turtles and hatchlings. She led seminars, talks, walks to teach people of all ages about sea turtles. And she’d be on the beach at any time of day or night on behalf of sea turtles, the female’s eggs and their hatchlings. She was their protector, monitor, advocate and records keeper. She was their mama.
Mother’s Day seems an appropriate day to honor Fox. But so too is May 1, the official start of sea turtle nesting season, and that’s what AMITW has planned.
The nonprofit, which has been monitoring the beaches every morning since April 15 for signs of nesting activity, plans to mark Suzi Fox Day with the inaugural Sea Turtle Nesting Season Kickoff Party.
The May 1 event will be 3-6 p.m. at Coquina Beach Lifeguard Tower #9 in Bradenton Beach.
“We will be kicking off sea turtle nesting season and celebrating Suzi with an educational booth, games and activities for kids, free amber light bulbs and free outreach materials for AMI residents to hand out to their guests over the summer,” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella told The Islander April 23. “Most of our volunteers will be there to celebrate and educate anyone who stops by. We also will have music by Mike Sales.”
Turtle watch also will present Sea Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts talks Mondays at 10 a.m. starting May 5 at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
During Fox’s tenure, AMITW also conducted turtle talks, usually on the beach following the morning patrols.
“I believe Suzi’s legacy is the people she educated about sea turtles on Anna Maria Island,” Mazzarella said. “She touched the lives of so many with her outreach and those people learned a lot from her and remember the experiences with fondness such that they are advocates for sea turtles now and are teaching others how to conserve and protect them.”
The Islander invited people via its social media accounts to share remembrances and friends, neighbors, colleagues and family shared:
“Thank y’all for still doing this for my nana,” wrote Ashley Norfleet.
- “She was awesome,” said Cathy Lynn Forcino.
- “Such a Turtle Treasure!!!” wrote Peggy Dean.
- Such an island legend,” said Tammy Paskarnis.
- “I miss her,” said Kathy Doddridge. “Suzi gave the best hugs!!”
Mazzarella and Fox knew each other and were colleagues or, as Mazzarella described it, they “had sister jobs — she at AMITW and me at Mote since 2008.”
“We would consult with each other on turtle patrol — the good and the bad — and also get together as friends from time to time to just enjoy each other’s company.”
Like Doddridge, a volunteer for AMITW, Mazzarella mentioned Fox’s hugs.
Fox, she said, was “always a good listener, gave helpful suggestions, encouragement, advice and always with a smile and great hugs!”
Did you know?
Sea turtles are federally protected by the Endangered Species Act and by state and local laws.
People who see a sea turtle in distress on Anna Maria Island can call AMITW at 941-301-8434 or FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
For more information, go to www.islandturtlewatch.com.