Wild Amelia celebrates Amelia Island with Nature Festival

After a COVID-induced hiatus, the Wild Amelia Nature Festival came back for its 14th year.

This past weekend, it kicked off with a sunset river cruise and led into animal exhibits, activities for the kids, nature walks and more.

The Nature Festival is run by Wild Amelia, a program from Keep Nassau Beautiful. The annual festival is a staple for nature lovers in the community, and this year’s Eco-Expo took place Saturday, May 20, at the Atlantic Recreation Center. With live music and live animals outside under the sun and 27 booths and a silent auction featuring the work of local artists inside, organizers made sure to have something for everyone.

Parents brought their young children to the different booths, where the Florida Horseshoe Crab Watch showed the kids shells and taught them about the importance of this keystone species. Families also visited with Crystal the raccoon, TikTok star representing Tows and Tails wildlife sanctuary. The Omni Amelia Island Nature Center also stopped by with some hard-shelled friends.

Keep Nassau Beautiful led volunteers in the annual Downtown to Dunes Cleanup. Sporting their blue KNB T-shirts, volunteers met across town at different locations with their reusable bags and picked up litter all across town and the beach. As a thank you, Keep Nassau Beautiful hosted its volunteers at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott by Main Beach.

There, Audubon International announced its sophomore class of Audubon Green Hotels and Fernandina Beach Main Street gave out its first Curb Appeal Award, given to businesses in recognition of the work they do to update and beautify their storefronts. The inaugural award went to JW Frame Gallery for its recent renovations.

“This award will be given out quarterly to a business or property within the Main Street district that shows improvements in their facade,” Lisa Finkelstein, Main Street director said, “whether it is new paint, awnings, lighting, signage, landscape, any type of outwardly facing improvement. Our hope is that it will spur a little competition between businesses, both on Eighth Street and downtown to improve their properties.”

Outside of the Eco-Expo, local businesses arranged eco-tours for participants to engage in, from kayaking to beach cleanups, stretching all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The auction benefitting Wild Amelia’s education programs featured work from local artists. Up for auction was Steve Leimburg’s photograph of a Red-Shouldered Hawk. Other items included a mosaic table of a loggerhead sea turtle by local artist Cathy Brandt. The loggerhead is Wild Amelia’s 2023 Critter of the Year.

“We want to educate and introduce people to our amazing island,” Keep Nassau Beautiful Executive Director Lynda Bell said. “Our local businesses (partner with us) to do that, and that’s what the weekend is about, to get people out in our beautiful ecosystem and help them enjoy it.”

hdorman@fbnewsleader.com