Totals show that the 12^th Annual St. Johns River Celebration, a city-wide volunteer cleanup hosted by the City of Jacksonville on Saturday, March 17, was one of the most successful of its kind in recent years. 

Individual residents, families, Scout troops, high school students, corporate groups and others spent the morning collecting litter and debris from nearly 30 riverfront and inland sites across the community.  Together, 1,040 volunteers contributed 3,638.5 hours and collected 39,531 pounds of litter. 

Since 2000, 7,575 event volunteers have logged 25,685.5 hours and have collected 294,511 pounds of marine and inland litter. (Click here for complete data since 2000. [PDF 8Kb])

"The St. Johns River is the crown jewel of our city and I am tremendously grateful for the many hard work and community spirit demonstrated by the many volunteers who participated in this year's event," said Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton.  "Government has made some recent important strides to improving our river's health but we cannot do it alone.  I am proud of those who have given their time to improve our quality of life."

Part of the Florida Great American Cleanup, this event is one of many national and regional volunteer efforts to clean and protect the environment throughout the spring.  Participants were rewarded for their efforts with a commemorative t-shirt and refreshments at Metropolitan Park following the event.

Spearheaded by the City's Environmental Resource Management Department/Clean It Up, Green it Up Division, the event is a partnership with Vistakon; JEA; Citibank; Signature Land; Publix Supermarkets; Taylor Engineering, Inc.; Anheuser – Busch, Inc.; Advanced Disposal Services; Southland Waste Systems; Waste Management; Pepsi – Cola; The Glad Products Company; Coca- Cola; The St. Johns Riverkeeper; JaxPride; The Sierra Club; Amateur Radio Emergency Service Members; City of Jacksonville Parks, Recreation, Entertainment and Conservation Department; Environmental Protection Board; Duval County Public Schools; Jacksonville Sheriff's Office; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Keep America Beautiful; and Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Commission.