- Groups are working to protect land and water in Wakulla County and now they're trying to get others involved.
- The groups provide things like outreach on social media, educating the public, and advocacy on a state and local level.
- Watch the video to see how they're making this happen.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"I’ve grown up watching a lot of things change. We had a river change color from crystal clear to green-brown. We had to be oil spill. We’ve had just a lot of ecological degradation and there’s a lot of stake here.”
After seeing these things happen here, Gil Damon wanted to do something about it so he started an all-volunteer organization called Downriver Project.
Damon: “We work to unite hundreds of fishermen and paddlers and all sorts of folks to defend the waters of the Forgotten Coast.”
Several industries are dependent on natural resources like our water and that’s why they fight to protect it.
Damon: “We’ve managed to stop three really dangerous multi-million dollar projects threatening our waterways and our fishing tradition and we’re really proud of that. We’re excited to keep going.”
Other groups like Conversation Florida, a nonprofit land conservancy do this by protecting land.
Deen: “The wild places in our state provide drinking water, habitats for our wild native species, and many green spaces are agricultural land that feed not only Florida but also the world.”
Traci Deen, President and CEO of Conservation Florida says the more people know about conservation and support it, the more land and water will be protected.
Both groups have similar goals, protecting nature. Some of the things they do are outreach on social media, educating the public, and advocacy on a state and local level.
Damon believes what happens in other areas could impact Wakulla County, like one project they’re working on.
Damon: “Our big focus is trying to defend the Apalachicola River basin from oil drilling, a company from Louisiana is trying to drill for oil inside the floodplain of the river basin and it’s a threat to our drinking water and to our Tupelo industry.”
While this isn’t in Wakulla County, it’s right next door and an example of how groups are coming together to protect the environment.
Damon: “It’s this shared identity that we all have as folks who live on and near the water in these rural areas and defend this way of life that exists almost nowhere else.”
To learn more here are their pages:
