Jacksonville Councilman Joe Carlucci and his family were among the more than 200 volunteers clad in neon orange T-shirts participating in the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) fourth annual Clean-up Northeast Florida Waterways event on July 27.
NEFAR hosted seven clean-up sites, including four Northeast Florida boat ramps, a woodsy area near Millers Creek in St. Nicholas, and along the shoreline of the Northbank and Southbank Riverwalks. Participants enjoyed a party after the clean-up at the NEFAR Resource Center.
More than two tons of trash was collected, as NEFAR aimed to hit its final goal of collecting at least 10,000 pounds of garbage from Northeast Florida’s waterways this summer.
“Our goal this year was 10,000 pounds of trash, and after this weekend I think we will be close,” said Mark Feagle of Watson Realty, a founder of the event. “This is a collective effort, and I thank all who took the time on Saturday morning to come out and make a difference for our Florida waters.”
The large waterway collection event was the second of three to be hosted by NEFAR this summer. On July 13, Realtors from the Putnam County area hosted a waterway event that collected more than 1,000 pounds of garbage from the St. Johns River and other tributaries around Palatka.
It is the fourth consecutive year NEFAR has organized a comprehensive waterways clean-up in Northeast Florida.
Carlucci joined his wife, Victoria, and two sons in collecting many bags of garbage from under the Acosta Bridge on July 27.
The event also included a boat convoy, which traveled to Goat Island and other hard-to-reach locales in the St. Johns River.
JDog Junk Removal & Hauling drove to various locations to pick up the trash.
“My 16-cubit-yard truck was completely full,” said Yuriy, of JDog, who also sponsored the event.
Also sponsoring the event were realMLS, Watson Realty Corp., First Federal Bank, NEFAR CEO Glenn East on behalf of the St. Johns Bass Anglers, NXT Real Estate, the Coastal Conservation Association and Jax Boat Rentals.
