Matanzas Riverkeeper: Protecting our waters

By Wylie Saviello

Matanzas Riverkeeper is a grassroots, non-profit organization that works to keep Northeast Florida’s waterways drinkable, swimmable and fishable. Through advocacy, education and community engagement, they protect the health of the Guana, Tolomato and Matanzas estuaries.

The Waterkeeper movement dates back to New York’s Hudson River in the 1960s, where a group of fishermen filed a lawsuit because the increased industrial pollution declined the Hudson’s water quality so much so that the fishery started to collapse.

In an effort to prevent further pollution, these fishermen made John Cronin the first riverkeeper. Cronin enforced actions against polluters and served as a model of someone who is the eyes and voice for the waterways. There are now hundreds of water keepers in over 40 countries that work to protect the waterways their communities rely on.

Executive Director Jen Lomberk and Program Director Captain Silas Tanner spoke about their work as part of the riverkeeper movement and detailed their community outreach program, the Litter Gitter. The Litter Gitter is a Carolina skiff boat that takes community volunteers out into the estuary to collect trash. This program is an important part of mobilizing the St. Augustine community to turn their passion for the waterways into action to protect that resource.