In looking at our year in review we see some defeats but also some small victories and some seeds planted.
We want to thank all of our members for taking the time to read about what is happening or indeed sometimes what is not happening, at least to protect and care for our environment.
This year OSFR members Michael Roth and Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, along with Florida Springs Council and Florida Defenders of the Environment were directly in the firing line because of their involvement in lawsuits with Seven Springs Water Company and the Suwannee River Water Management District. SRWMD allowed Seven Springs Water Company to pump nearly a million gallons of water a day from the Santa Fe River and to pollute the planet with millions of single use plastic bottles.
The SRWMD ignored the third part of the three prong test of viability and left unread the almost 20,000 comments written by the public that opposed the permit to pump our water for sale. OSFR organized a rally in Live Oak outside the Suwannee River Water Management District headquarters on the day the district incredibly issued the pumping permit to Seven Springs Water Company.
OSFR was able to hand out postcards at outdoor farmers’ markets (many donated by photographer JohnBob Carlos) to mail to the SRWMD to remind them of their culpability. We gave out hundreds and there were many supporters of the Santa Fe River who donated those hundreds of stamps. Thanks to all who helped.
In January we successfully produced a TV public announcement “Don’t Buy This Stuff” opposing bottled water, and which can be seen on our website. The cast members were all from our local community. These young people came to be a part of the wave of the environmental movements for the next generations and adamantly oppose the extraction of our spring water to be put in plastic bottles for single use consumption.
In February board member Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson was interviewed by WMNF about the Ginnie Springs water permit. In March Merrillee also was chosen as one of six speakers on a national Story of Stuff webinar exposing Nestle’s destructive and deceitful business practices.
Also in this month we hosted a raffle for a VIBE YellowFin 100 single person kayak donated by Rum 138 as a fundraiser for Florida Springs Council to help with legal fees as did the fundraiser at Halloween when Rum 138 hosted the “Good Voodoo.”
In March, Florida Creamery of High Springs brought together several other businesses for an Ice Cream Social and donated $500 to OSFR, which we in turn donated to the Florida Springs Council with their legal fees. We are all in this together.
In April we were able to enjoy a tabling event in High Springs for Pioneer Days, in May we were in Hampton for Earth Day, in September we were at the Save the Soul Concert hosted by the Florida Springs Council and at the Santa Fe College Volunteering Event and finally at the Downtown Gainesville Arts Festival. Our main concern was to educate our public about single use plastic water bottles and invite the public to sign a pledge to stop that practice, in return for which they received a reusable metal water bottle.
OSFR was given special privilege when, on May 24, the award-winning film “The Fellowship of the Springs” premiered at Rum 138. Featured in the film were OSFR’s Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and OSFR advisor Bob Knight.
We organized and hosted a Memorial Day Kayaktivism flotilla to educate about Ginnie Springs bottling plant run by BlueTriton.
Our annual membership meeting in June saw the election of our new president Kristin Rubin and new board member David Vaina, while Travis Smith and Erik Wise stepped down as board members and we thank them for their service.
With the efforts of interested people in preventing the erosion to the River Rise boat ramp, better known as US 27 boat ramp, and after many meetings with those who know how take the steps to prevent erosion we wrote to the Columbia Board of County Commissioners as this is under their purview. We spoke with The Florida State Park Service also, but sadly these steps to help the Santa Fe River and the River Rise boat ramp went unnoticed.
We celebrated a victory on July 1 when Gov. DeSantis ended the M-CORES boondoggle. OSFR fought long and hard, attended every meeting and left many comments. As we are continuing to do with the Northern Turnpike Extension motivated by developers and not yet squelched.
Some OSFR members are now working with Colette Jacono, aquatic botanist and Wayne Oelfke, Fort White agriculture teacher, to incorporate an aqua-hort component in the middle school agriscience classes. The students will be learning about applied cultivation and biological plasticity of indigenous plants in and along the river. In doing this we hope to instill an understanding of riparian environment in a student project that should continue into the future.
David Vaina brought together four writers from the book The Wilder Heart of Florida — Margaret Tolbert, Lucinda Merritt, Lars Andersen and Leslie Poole for book reading under the stars, hosted by Rum 138 and OSFR.
David has also founded our new book club, next featuring Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer January 16, hosted by OSFR and meeting at 1st Magnitude Brewery in Gainesville. Please join us, there is plenty of time to read or listen to a book that invites you to see our world differently. The schedule for upcoming titles can be found on our Calendar page.
Last but not least is the upcoming and most popular fundraising event of the year! Due to COVID, we have postponed this annual tradition for the past two years. The 10th Annual RiverFest Songwriting and Song Contest about the Santa Fe River will be held March 27, 2022.
To learn more see our calendar for all the upcoming events for the RiverFest. There is something for everyone, there are river plant hikes and a paddle on the Santa Fe River with Lars Andersen.
Check out the website and mark your calendar for all these events.
Happy New Year to all!
