NEFAR plans St. Johns River clean-up on July 27

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) kicked off the first portion of its annual Clean-up Florida Waterways event by collecting 1,000 pounds of trash from the waterways in Putnam County on July 13. The Putnam County event was the first of three events comprising this years’ Waterways Clean-up.

Jacksonville Clean-up

On July 27 from 9 to 11 a.m., NEFAR will host six clean-up stations in Northeast Florida and members of the public are invited to attend.

All participants will receive a T-shirt and be supplied with gloves, grabbers, trash bags and buckets with the goal of collecting 10,000 pounds of garbage from areas in the region that feed into Northeast Florida’s waterways.

All participants are invited to a party after the clean-up, which will be held at the NEFAR Resource Center, 7801 Deercreek Club Road, Jacksonville.

Locations for the clean-up on July 27 will be:

• Black Creek Marina (aka Knights Marine Boat Ramp), 1470 River Lane (off U.S. 17) Green Cove Springs

• Wayne B. Stevens Boat Ramp, 4555 Ortega Farms Blvd., Jacksonville

• Bert Maxwell Boat Ramp and road leading to the area, 500 Maxwell Road, Jacksonville

• Sidney Geffen Park (North Riverwalk area between Riverside Arts Market and the Landing), 505 Alfred Dupont Place, Jacksonville

• Friendship Fountain area of the South Riverwalk, 1015 Museum Circle, Jacksonville

• Lions Club Boat Ramp, 4322 Richard Denby Gatlin Road, Jacksonville

Snacks and water will be available at all six locations.

A convoy of boats will also meet at the Lions Club Boat Ramp in Arlington and make its way to Goat Island, areas near JAXPort and underneath the Mathews Bridge to clean-up areas that are not easily accessible by land. Members of the public who wish to join the convoy should expect to meet around 8 a.m. in the waters near the boat ramp.

NEFAR’s Inaugural Trash Challenge

The NEFAR Inaugural Trash Challenge is open to all NEFAR members as well as the public.

Having begun on June 5, it will extend until midnight Thursday, Aug. 1. During that time, participants are asked to collect five-gallon buckets or bags of trash anywhere in Northeast Florida. Each participant should register on the iAngler app, and they will be asked to upload photos of their filled trash bags or containers. Their progress will be tracked on the iAngler app. 

A cash prize of $250 will be awarded to the participant who collects the most trash. Prizes will also be awarded to the participant from the public who collects the most trash and to the NEFAR member who collects the most trash. Also, all participants who did not win one of the three top prizes will have their names placed in a raffle. Raffle tickets will be awarded to each participant based upon the number of trash bags collected.

A full “trash” leaderboard will be updated each week on the iAngler app.