Cleaning up the Suwannee

By Jeff M. Hardison

Private and public organizations joined forces Saturday to remove litter and debris from along the Suwannee River between Hart Springs and Hinton Landing.
Seventy-six individuals volunteered for the Second Annual Suwannee River Cleanup, sponsored by Pure Water Wilderness and Enterprise Florida.
Hart Springs Park provided canoes. Other agencies that kicked in for the effort were Progress Energy Florida, Suwannee River Tours, Suwannee River Cruisers, Chambers of Commerce from Dixie, Gilchrist and Levy counties and the Christian Fellowship Community Church of Bell.

Most of the 76 volunteers who participated in the Second Annual Suwannee River Cleanup pause for a picture with the piles of debris, litter and trash they collected Saturday. Donna Creamer, executive director of Pure Water Wilderness, said everyone did ‘an outstanding job.’

Donna Creamer, executive director of Pure Water Wilderness, led the efforts. Three groups of people in canoes and kayaks scoured the shorelines in different sections along that stretch of river. They found enough garbage to fill three-quarters of a 22 cubic-yard dumpster, Creamer said.
From that section of river, volunteers collected tires, rims, 55-gallon drums, a giant wooden reel used for cable, big hunks of Styrofoam and an assortment of refuse that reflected thoughtless litterbugs’ carelessness.
Two biologists were among the paddlers collecting litter from the river. They traveled the farthest distance to help.
Michelle Wilcox of Kenansville (near St. Cloud), works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission during the week. She joined her friend Amy Clifton of Apopka, who during the week is a biologist with Florida State Parks, to kayak along the river and collect trash.
Wilcox said Clifton learned about the event after a park manager at Otter Springs noted the mission on Facebook. They had planned to kayak on Saturday and chose to help clean the river while having fun.
After the paddlers finished, everyone enjoyed a meal sponsored by Progress Energy. John Jenkins and Roger Watkins cooked some delicious regular and barbecue chicken. They are from Southern Chef’s Catering of Cross City. The Christian Fellowship Community Church of Bell provided dessert.
Beyond the many door prizes awarded, there were also prizes for first, second and third places for collecting the most cigarette butts from the river and for collecting the most cigarette butts from the park. Those prizes were funded by Quit DOC.
“Everyone did an outstanding job,” Creamer said. The event is slated to happen again next year, she added.