As we close the door on our milestone 25th anniversary year and look toward the next 25 years, we are grateful for your support. Thank you for standing by us as we fight for clean water and a healthy river. Thank you for supporting us as we educate the next generation of leaders who will love and protect our river. Threats to the river are ever-present, and we will remain the steadfast voice for our river.
Today, we reflect on 2025 and our annual progress and successes in advocacy, education, and community outreach as we work together toward our vision of a thriving St. Johns River Watershed.
In 2025, St. Johns Riverkeeper:
Advocacy
- Tested 324 water samples to identify problems and source solutions
- Engaged in 4 active lawsuits to keep polluters accountable and ensure legal protections for our river are upheld
- Responded to 82 hotline calls/emails from river advocates concerned about pollution, wetland destruction, and other issues
- Submitted 25 public comments on state and federal issues to ensure the river’s voice is heard
- Traveled nearly 4,000 miles by water and land to patrol and protect our 310-mile long river
- Spent 18 days – 144 hours on the river – surveying grasses, installing temporary enclosures, testing water quality, taking water samples and more for the SAVe Our River’s Grasses Expedition
- Installed 10 temporary enclosures to protect 67,930 square feet of our river’s submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) to allow grasses to grow and thrive for two full growing seasons
- Worked with LISC Jacksonville and Riverview Collective Community Organization to install an oyster reef at Riverview Park to improve water quality and protect the shoreline from storms and erosion
- Spent 112 hours on Moncrief Creek and the Ribault River conducting our ongoing Environmental Quality Assessment. We collected and tested 276 water samples from these tributaries
Education
- Reached more than 4,700 students through 138 programs – in classrooms and out in the watershed
- Educated students throughout the watershed, expanding programs to reach Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, and Alachua counties – covering 36 zip codes
- Led 79 boat trips to allow students the opportunity to experience the St. Johns firsthand – including 36 free RiverX field trips for Title I schools
- Hosted professional development for 30 teachers and educators
- Educated students about the surrounding waterways in their community at our afterschool program at Sallye B. Mathis Elementary, while an anti-litter art contest emphasized the importance of protecting our rivers and creeks
- Engaged with 1,730 people tabling at local events to educate the public and share about our organization
- Spent more than 4,970 hours leading educational programs
- Visited K-12 classrooms with relevant river ecology, human impact, and community science lessons
- Gave every second grader in Putnam County the opportunity to learn about the St. Johns and take an educational boat tour on the Pride of Palatka during the annual Bartram Frolic – and reached 656 students.
Community Outreach
- Hosted 63 Cleanups
- Removed more than 900 bags of trash from our watershed
- Collected 77 discarded tires during cleanups
- Volunteers led 11 cleanups at 5 locations along McCoys Creek, removing 310 bags of trash and 35 tires – completing our 13th consecutive year cleaning up this tributary monthly
- Activated 200+ volunteers, who spent more than 1,000 hours making a difference to help advance our mission
- Planned or participated in over 130 events to educate and involve the public in our mission
- Showcased the river on 20 boat trips
- 13 boat trips allowed 236 locals to experience the Ribault River by water and gain a new perspective of their community
- Facilitated more than 180 trees being planted at 10 parks in the Resilient Ribault project area
- Created 300+ vertical oyster gardens (VOGs) at 3 volunteer workshops
- Deployed 216 VOGs across 25 sites including 3 city parks
- Championed the third annual Great St. Johns River Cleanup, during which 1,369 volunteers worked 3,297 hours to clean 80 sites and remove 1,478 bags of trash throughout our watershed
- Launched the 25 Taps for the St. Johns Passport Challenge to celebrate our 25th anniversary, bring awareness to our mission, connect with new people across the watershed, and engage supporters in a fun, memorable way. More than 540 people signed up, with nearly 400 actively participating and logging check-ins. Collectively, participants completed more than 1,600 local brewery visits throughout the watershed
- Collaborated with five local organizations and businesses to host our first National Public Lands Day Celebration – focusing on experiencing, taking care of, and advocating for public lands that help protect our watershed
- Partnered with JaxParks and other local nonprofits to better align our cleanup initiatives and maximize our collective impact
- Worked with municipal parks departments, private outfitters, other nonprofits, and local businesses for Get Your Feet Wet activities
Join the Movement
We are proud of what we accomplished together this past year – for the river, and for us all – but there is much more work to be done.
Become a member of St. Johns Riverkeeper today and be a part of our success.