River Rescue

GIVING FROM THE HEART

ACTIVISM&CHARITY

River Rescue

Art Jones, founder of non-profit Florida springs cleanup group, saves manatees, otters, and the world One Rake At A Time

BY MELISSA-MARIE MARKS

On the sunny gulf coast of Florida, the quaint picturesque town of Crystal River is known for being the only place in the world where people can legally swim with manatees. People travel from all over to swim, snorkel, and fish in Crystal River’s pristine waterways.

There’s just one problem. Many of Florida’s beautiful spring-fed waterways, including those found in Crystal River, are being invaded by an invasive escaped aquarium plant called hydrilla, along with a toxic alga called Lyngbya.

For the past 30+ years, the state of Florida has sprayed the hydrilla twice per year, leaving behind the dead, decomposing plant matter to settle on the bottom of the waterway. With the hydrilla gone, opportunistic Lyngbya algae takes over, growing on rocks and plants along the bottom of fresh waterways and then floating in dense mats to the surface, preventing sunlight from shining through the water. The floating mats of smelly algae then suffocate the native eelgrass, which is a primary food source for manatees and a natural habitat for many other Florida wildlife species. Art Jones is working hard to change that. Jones is a long-time resident of Crystal River and an enthusiastic nature lover. He has a background in organic, sustainable farming and believes strongly in leaving the earth in better shape than he found it in.

“When I first saw the algae covering the water, I couldn’t believe no one was cleaning it up,” Jones said. “So I decided to do something about it.”

In 2009, Jones got into the water and went to work, using his rake to scrape the Lyngbya up off the bottom of Hunter Springs, an easily accessible swimming beach and popular manatee-viewing destination located in downtown Crystal River.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ART JONES

“I remember some people mentioning to me that they thought the only reason I was cleaning up Hunter Springs was so my children could swim in clean water. But for me, from the perspective of a gay man who doesn’t have any children, I see all the children as my children. We need to treat everybody’s kids equally and respect them all. I started cleaning Hunter Springs for everybody’s kids. All kids deserve clean water.”

As time went on, Jones and his rake became regular sightings in Crystal River’s freshwater springs. Local residents became curious about the work Jones was doing, but some expressed doubt that his raking would actually make a difference.

“People weren’t sure that what I was doing was going to work. So I announced to the mayor of Crystal River that I was going to clean up not just Hunter Springs, but all of King’s Bay. He didn’t believe that it was possible.”

But Jones kept raking, word continued to spread, and soon people from all over the country were calling and volunteering to help clean up King’s Bay. It was then, in 2015, that Jones founded One Rake At A Time, Inc., a non-profit springs-cleaning organization determined to bring life and beauty back to Florida’s fresh waterways.

“A professor called and said there were students in Pennsylvania who wanted to come clean up King’s Bay for a service project. It just started snowballing from there and the next thing I knew, the then-state senator, Charlie Deane--who is retired now--called and said that he wanted to help, and then we received a $100,000 grant.”

Jones and his organization used the grant money to hire people from the local homeless shelter to rake different parts of King’s Bay.

“We would pay out $3 per cubic foot of Lyngbya algae that they brought to us. So we used the whole $100,000 grant on that project.”

Duke Energy donated another $50,000 and then the state of Florida awarded Jones and One Rake At A Time with $1.4 million to pay for divers to use special equipment to vacuum the floor of King’s Bay. After the vacuuming is finished and the floor of King’s Bay is clean of Lyngbya, Jones and his volunteers will plant native eelgrass and regularly monitor its growth, and then that phase of the project will be complete.

Saving The Rainbow River Now Jones would like to use the same tried-and tested method to clean up the Rainbow River, another spring-fed waterway located in west central Florida and a popular tubing and swimming spot enjoyed by both locals and tourists. “It’s a beautiful river, but it’s in decline. This is a habitat for otters, turtles, birds, and more. We want to save it.”

Jones explained that he won’t know how much money it will take to clean up all 125 acres of the Rainbow River until after the river is professionally surveyed and mapped out, identifying all the stands of overgrown hydrilla and Lyngbya algae. The survey alone will cost around $150,000, an amount that Jones is hoping to raise via donations. Once the surveying is complete, Jones and his organization will take the project specs to their local state senator in Tallahassee.

“We’ll go to Tallahassee this November with a ‘shovel ready’ project and ask them to sponsor legislative appropriation. The project is very doable. The state allocates $50 million per year for springs cleanup.”

Jones believes cleaning up the Rainbow River will likely take $10 to $20 million in total and about five years to complete.

“The best way to help us clean the river is to get on our mailing list and become a friend of One Rake At A Time for $25. We need donations. If people want to donate their time, we’ll find other ways for them to help.”

Jones also expressed a need for help with social media and outreach.

“We want to start a blog and make videos from the river, showing things that are happening in real time, but we need more traffic to our website. We need others to help spread the word.”

Those interested in supporting One Rake At A Time are encouraged to visit Jones’ website atonerakeatatime.org. Monetary donations can be made directly through the website. One Rake At A Time, Inc. is an all-inclusive, volunteer-run organization. “My organization is great because it integrates the whole community. Gay, straight, LGBTQ—it’s never an issue because everybody is here to work and we all have so much to offer.”

Art Jones has no intentions of slowing down after the Rainbow River is restored. His future plans include more water cleanups and possibly writing a screenplay and children’s book.

“I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to do their part to save the world,” Jones said. “I want to be a positive role model, even after I’m gone. I want others to know that by putting service before self, by helping others and giving back, you yourself will be happier and more in harmony with the earth.”

MELISSA-MARIE MARKS is a freelance writer based in North- Central Florida. She specializes in writing about green business, green technology, renewable energy, conservation and sustainability, and holistic health. Melissa graduated from The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in 2012 and practiced as a Florida licensed midwife until 2018, when she retired from private practice to focus on her writing career. She spends her leisure time camping with her kids and manifesting a life she loves by utilizing the law of attraction.