St. Johns Riverkeeper

Take action with me to protect Florida's Springs during the 2026 Legislative Session Our springs need your help! Use your voice to speak up for Florida springs, conservation lands and wildlife. The Florida Springs Council makes it easy to contact lawmakers with pre-written emails. Pro...

Urgent Action Alert‼️It's time to speak up again to keep public lands in public hands. Please urge your representatives to vote NO on HB 1421: Cattle Grazing on State Land.

💧 This bad bill is being voted on tomorrow, Feb. 17 at 8:30am

Contact your reps: floridaspringscouncil.good.do/2026legislat...

During our River & Roots field trip at Eartha's Farm & Market, students:

💧 Take an educational tour of the farm, test the soil & water on Moncrief Creek

💧 Learn about how human impacts affect our environment

💧 Learn about regenerative & sustainable agricultural processes & how they help our river

HB 441: conservation land swap proposal process transparency

HB 1245: reduce the impact of sewage sludge on our waterways

SB 1230/1019: require PFAS testing in biosolids & prohibit the use & sale of aqueous film-forming foam

SB 1066/HB 981: restore the Ocklawaha & invest in river communities

Resilient Ribault Meeting Brings Together Stakeholders to Shape Northside’s Future – Free Press of Jacksonville More than 40 residents, neighborhood leaders, nonprofit partners, and public officials gathered in January for the first 2026 stakeholder meeting of Resilient Ribault, a community-driven initiative…

“This program is about trusting residents to lead,” Trey Ford, Strategic Partnerships & Programming Coordinator at St. Johns Riverkeeper noted. “The people who live here know what their neighborhoods need.”

Lawmakers advance proposal to restore natural Ocklawaha-St. Johns water flow The proposal would allow the Ocklawaha to breach a dam currently limiting the river’s flow of water into the St. Johns River.

“What happens to the river will affect all of those in the watershed,” said coalition chair Jessica Finch, who works for the nonprofit St. Johns Riverkeeper. “A free-flowing Ocklawaha would increase (bio)diversity. It would allow the fish to natively spawn.” www.cfpublic.org/environment/...

Today is World Wetlands Day 💦

Wetlands are essential for the health of the St. Johns. They provide:

💧 water filtration,

💧flood prevention,

💧groundwater recharge, and so much more.

🗓️ Join us this Saturday as we celebrate World Wetlands Day. stjohnsriverkeeper.org/event/2026-0...

Upcoming Events Roundup! Get Your Feet Wet along the St. Johns River watershed: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/events/

🥾 World Wetlands Day Celebration | Feb 7

🌱 Riverview Park Service Day | Feb 14

🚯 Moncrief Creek Cleanup | Feb 14

🚮 McCoys Creek Cleanup | Feb 15

🌳 Explore Wetland Preserve | Feb 28

Oyster reef on the Trout River in Jax 🦪

We worked with LISC Jax and RCCO to install these POSH Modules.

🦪 A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day.

🎣 Oyster reefs create habitat for hundreds of aquatic species.

🌧️ Reefs are natural buffers against erosion and storm surges.

World Wetlands Day is Feb 2! 🌱

Wetlands are some of the most diverse & important ecosystems on the planet. They provide:

💧 Water Filtration
💧 Flood Prevention
💧 Groundwater Recharge

Join us for a day among our local wetlands on Saturday, Feb 7.

Learn more: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/event/2026-0...

"There was excellent fishing in the Ocklawaha before the dam,” White said. “And there will be excellent fishing if the dam is removed.” www.palatkadailynews.com/local-news/o...

Our Q1 #ResilientRibault stakeholder meeting brought together residents, community organizations, & city partners.

🌱 40+ attendees

🤝 20+ organizations

🗣️ Key conversations: Park improvements, nature-based solutions, and community-led resilience

✔️ Local voices, collective action.

Ocklawaha Drawdown Paddle: Lost Springs and Cypress Forest - Explore the St. Johns River Ryan Worthington details two paddles one can take along the historic Ocklawaha River during the drawdown of the reservoir.

"Some outdoor experiences in Florida are seasonal, but this paddle opportunity is only available every few years."

Florida Master Naturalist Ryan Worthington penned a blog detailing some options for paddling the Ocklawaha during the drawdown.

Read it here: explorethestjohns.com/ocklawaha-dr...

We're kicking off year ‼️14‼️ of cleaning up McCoys Creek this weekend! Consistent effort matters.

🗓️ McCoys Creek Cleanup | Sunday, Jan 18 from 10am - Noon | 168 S Myrtle Ave

Help us make a difference this year! For the River - and her tributaries. 🚯
stjohnsriverkeeper.org/event/2026-0...

Exploring the Intersection of Art & Infrastructure On January 13, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will use art and memory to tackle one of Jacksonville’s lesser-known stories: how water, development, and displacement have shaped the city’s…

"On Tuesday, January 13, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., the Cummer-hosted panel will discuss how decisions about land use and infrastructure continue to shape the social and environmental fabric of the city."

Rising Tides 2026 Launch Event - St. Johns Riverkeeper Rising Tides 2026 Launch Event | Tuesday, January 13 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Aardwolf Brewing Company Rising Tides, St. Johns Riverkeeper’s Young Professionals Group, is relaunching in 2026! After a fe...

Young Professionals! 📣 TONIGHT - learn more about Rising Tides and how you can get involved.

✔️ Volunteer Opportunities

✔️ Networking & Getting Out on the Water

✔️ Advocating for a Healthy River

🗓️ Tues, Jan 13 from 5:30-7:30pm at Aardwolf

RSVP: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/event/2026-0...

Expert Insights 2026: Lisa Rinaman, Jackie Rowland, Gracie Simendinger, Buck Smoak and Bill Sorenson | Jax Daily Record What Northeast Florida leaders are saying about the issues and challenges in the year ahead.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper, Lisa Rinaman, was featured in the Jax Daily Record's Expert Insights for 2026: www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026/ja...

January events round up!

🧘 Yoga Fundraiser
🤝 Rising Tides 2026 Launch Event (YPs)
📽️ Reunite the Rivers: Lost Springs Film Screening
🚯 McCoys Creek Cleanup
🛥️ Ocklawaha River Drawdown Cruises
🛶 Lost Springs of the Ocklawaha Paddle with Adventure Outpost

More info: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/events/

You may not be on riverfront property... but if you're in our watershed, what you do affects our river! Much of the trash that ends up in our waterways originated on land.

And, every bit of good helps! We recently cleaned up Riverside in the spirit of community coming together to protect our river.

The Price of Poop Rising costs of wastewater management in Florida leave questions about who will pick up the bill.

Your St. Johns Riverkeeper spoke to WUFT Media about the biosolids (sewage sludge) from South Florida being spread near the headwaters of the St. Johns: www.wuft.org/environment/...

Investing in River Communities: Resilient Ribault Update - St. Johns Riverkeeper St. Johns Riverkeeper shares an update on what was accomplished in 2025 as part of the Resilient Ribault initiative.

Through our Resilient Ribault initiative with LISC Jacksonville, we're working to provide equitable access to the river, clean water for locals to enjoy, and the necessary infrastructure improvements to mitigate flooding and improve community resilience.

2025 SJRK Wrapped 🎶 🚤

From cleaning up the banks of our river, to enhancing local student's knowledge of their river, to taking action to save the St. Johns - here are some highlights from our year.

One of the most important components of our work is education. For students to truly understand the importance of the river, they must have opportunities to experience it.

Please consider making a year-end gift to help us continue to educate local students. stjohnsriverkeeper.org/join-give/do...

2025 Advocate of the Year: Dr. Lucinda Sonnenberg, a retired Research Professor of Chemistry.

💧 She has been instrumental in our Resilient Ribault Water Quality Assessment.

💧 She has helped SJRK continue to strengthen our scientific foundation, credibility & rigorous protection for our river. 👏

2025 Volunteer Awards - St. Johns Riverkeeper St. Johns Riverkeeper is humbled to honor our annual Volunteer of the Year Award recipients! Read about top advocates, educators, and more.

Each year, SJRK distributes our annual Volunteer of the Year Awards. These supporters have gone above-and-beyond this year to contribute to cleanups, scientific research, after-school education programs, & more. Join us in celebrating these special individuals!

Wasting Away: Florida lets big companies pollute with impunity. Waterways suffer | TampaBay.com For decades, Florida has failed to cut contamination — at the benefit of businesses that cause it.

"Their stalling is part of a decadeslong pattern. Time and time again, the state has failed to take action to cut contamination - at the benefit of the industries that cause it."

Stringing them along, oyster gardens improve river water quality River conservationists are promoting vertical oyster gardens, strings of oyster shells that can be hung from docks to help growth and water quality.

Dr. Quint White recently wrote an article for the Times-Union on our Vertical Oyster Garden (VOG) Program for the St. Johns River:

Upcoming Cleanups:

🚮 Craig Creek Cleanup | Sat, Dec 13 | 10am | River Oaks Park (near Brookwood Road)

🚮 Park & King Business District Cleanup | Sun, Dec 14 | 9am | Cultivate Jax

🚮 McCoys Creek Cleanup | Sun, Dec 21 | 10am | Northbank Riverwalk

Learn more & RSVP: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/events/

Tomorrow, we'll be presenting our Volunteer of the Year award to none other than Alex Wolf!

🏆 Alex is a cleanup champion - from attending to organizing.

👀 He has personally scouted over 20 parks to help identify areas of particular need for our cleanup efforts.

THANK YOU Alex! 👏

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in Giving Tuesday.

🌊 Your gifts will allow us to launch of the Lynda Orth Next Wave Leadership Academy to empower high school students to become the Next Wave of leaders and river advocates. 🌊

We have raised $17K toward our goal of $25K! 🩵 SJRK.org

Watershed-Wide Crisis Requires A Watershed Movement - St. Johns Riverkeeper Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is the foundation of our river’s health – providing biofiltration, fish habitat, erosion control, oxygenation of the water column, carbon sequestration and storage, ...

Our river needs a holistic action plan that includes immediate relief, restoration projects, long-term preventative strategies and proactive measures to protect and restore the St. Johns River for future generations to come. stjohnsriverkeeper.org/2025-12-a-wa...