It’s the first week of sea turtle nesting season in Southwest Florida, and this year the thousands of loggerheads and greens that nest on our beaches have a new ally in nine-year-old entrepreneur Naomi Haynam.
The Cape Coral pre-teen so loves sea turtles she’s making beach-themed earrings and selling them at home, online, and in parks to raise money to donate to volunteer sea turtle protection groups.
Her Turtle Treasures by Naomi line of custom earrings cost $6 per pair, but — and here comes one of her sales pitches — buy three pairs at once and get a really nice discount!
“My mom makes me wear goggles, so I don't get any, like, metal in my eye.”Naomi Haynem, Turtle Treasures by Naomi
“I was about like, maybe like eight when I went and got to see sea turtles get released,” she said. “It was really cool because I got to watch them swim out and get released.”
Naomi also remembers falling in love with sea turtles swimming off an island near Okinawa when she was a very little girl. Well, she sort of remembers.
She was swimming with her dad, who was in the Air Force, on a day in the middle of sea turtle nesting season. The animals were thick in the crystal blue waters. Hundreds swimming all around her.
Naomi isn’t quite sure if she was old enough to remember the adventure, or if her dad’s many recollections of the event and family photos, that have made the memory more real to her. Not that it matters.
It’s all about sea turtles now.
Naomi is not only her own best spokesperson, she’s the jewelry maker, inventory supervisor, graphic artist, merchandise photographer, advertising executive, spreadsheet sales analyst, fulfillment officer, charity coordinator, and serves as what counts as her own CEO.
The homeschooler is also supervisor of sales.
She’s set up a self-service counter on the front porch. She devotes space online to photos, order forms, and a QR code to make buying a snap. And she also walks to a nearby park with her display case, packed with earrings, to make sales.
In short, Naomi is more organized than many adults.
Her production line, however, is all nine-year-old.
Safety first: “My mom makes me wear goggles, so I don't get any like metal in my eye.”
“This is how we can help sea turtles. We can help them by spreading awareness. And not only sea turtles. We can help other wildlife.”Naomi Haynam, makes the Turtle Treasures by Naomi line of jewelry to help sea turtle conservation
Then: “I get, like, tweezers. I get kits off of Amazon, otherwise it would take a long time to make it,” she said. “So, what I do is like, there's this little thing, I open it, and then I put the charm, and then I add in the beads. Then I, like, twist it.”
Note the variety: “This one has sand dollars. That one has, like mermaids, turtles, seahorses. It always varies. I sometimes always make them different.”
And the pitch: “This is how we can help sea turtles. We can help them by spreading awareness. And not only sea turtles. We can help other wildlife.”
She’s really good at all of it. Naomi’s sold $650 of her hand-made earrings in her first six weeks, each pair hanging in a hand-made holder emblazoned with her own design.
That’s allowed Naomi to adopt sea turtle nests with the North Captiva Sea Turtle Foundation and another in Port Saint Joe in the Panhandle. Adopting a nest is akin to a sponsorship
To visit her online store, click here.
Or watch her 30-second Facebook spots, which like any good infomercial, is packed with enthusiasm.
The set-up: “I have something really exciting to share. I just sponsored a real sea turtle nest. That means I'm helping protect baby sea turtles while they grow and get ready to hatch. Soon I'm going to get pictures of the baby turtles, and I can't wait to show you!
The hook: “Right now, I'm working toward adopting another nest so I can help even more sea turtles survive."
The pitch: “If you want to be part of this, then help save sea turtles too. Every pair helps protect sea turtles in their homes."
And the close: “Thank you for supporting Turtle Treasures. Bye!”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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