FSSR - Photo Gallery

We are looking for any interesting photos that we can post here on our website. We are especially interested in nature/habitat photos of the St. Sebastian River, the St. Sebastian River Preserve Park (formerly St. Sebastian River State Buffer Preserve), and the surrounding area. If you have any photos that you think may be of interest to our members, that you would like us to post here, please click here send us an email with your photos, or for more information. Photos need to be in the "JPEG" format and do not need to be any higher resolution than 72 dpi.

National River Cleanup Week - 2008

The following photos are from our river cleanup trip on the St. Sebastian River, June 1, 2008 as part of the "American Rivers" National River Cleanup Week. The trip was hosted by the Friends and the water-side part of the cleanup was sponsored by Kayaks, Etc. of Vero Beach. The land-side part of the cleanup was held in and around Moore's Point Park at the mouth of the St. Sebastian River and was conducted by Sherry Shipley, Frank Wegel and Bruce ZIngman.

Thanks to all who helped out, especially the AmeriCorps volunteers, and to Mike & Kristen Beck of Kayaks, Etc.!

Mike Beck of Kayaks, Etc. with their mega canoe (aka garbage scow!).

The "slave ship", commanded by Captain Mike (photo courtesy of Jerry Woods)

Ahh, now that looks like more fun! (photo courtesy of Jerry Woods)

AmeriCorps volunteers with trash collected from the water-side part of the cleanup.

Bags of trash from the river cleanup - all bottles and cans got recycled!

National River Cleanup Week - 2007

Below are a few pictures from our recent kayak trip on the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River. This was the first trip we have hosted using kayaks and working with our corporate member - "Kayaks, etc". The trip was in June 2007 and coordinated as a cleanup event as part of the American Rivers organization's National River Cleanup Week.

The photos were taken by Friend's member Linda Weinstien and are used by permission.

Kristen and Mike Beck of Kayaks, etc. man their huge canoe, brought from Germany to collect any trash found along the trip.

SSR Cleanup kayak trip, June 2007

Gorgeous and fragrant swamp lilies in blossom along the shoreline of the river.

SSR Cleanup kayak trip, June 2007

View of the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River.

This bumper sticker is out of print, but the message is still important!
from The Federation of Fly Fishers and
the Florida Seagrass Outreach Partnership

Early morning fog over the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River, by Dr. Jeff Slade

Early morning fog over the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River
Donald MacDonald park is on the eastern shoreline
©Dr. Jeff Slade, used by permission

Hillsborough River, by Jeff Ripple

Noble Waters

Florida's Rivers Wind Through Time and Touch the Soul

"Like everything else in Florida, our rivers resemble few others back on the continent. Indeed, in various stages of our wet-dry seasons, they don't even resemble themselves. Gravity makes them work, of course, but it's a distinctly Florida-driven gravity that pushes water across barely perceptible gradients on the landscape. Its source is not glaciers or snowmelt of the mountains, but the superheated hydrological cycle of our water-bound peninsula. The liquid driving our rivers falls from the sky in extraordinary amounts. Then, it either gathers up into swamps and marshes, or seeps downward into the soft limerock of our crust. Great wetlands like the Green Swamp brim and overflow, driving our rivers outward from it. Or the bone-white karst underfoot does likewise, its own underground rivers pushed to the surface by the unseen alchemy of hydrostatic pressure from the uplands."

"Sometimes, I would go out on a river alone, shouldering my kayak to the edge of the water at the ocher light just before dusk, and paddle until it was well after dark. Dipping my paddle sparingly to steer, I would drift downstream with the slight current, not unlike a patch of floating hyacinths. Alone in the river darkness, I would breathe slowly and imagine myself as nearly invisible. Wading birds would screech from the dense riverine forest, fish would smack the surface to feed, and alligators would begin their slow patient survey of the dark primal water, reclaiming the river as completely as the night itself. Without the noise of my clumsy modern ego to drown everything out, the river would regain its preeminence and grace; and when I had the courage to allow it, it would rise up to touch my soul. If I was lucky I could reach a singular place nurtured by the full emotional sway of bliss, of respect, of fear. It was an experience beyond the safeguard of intellect."

For more information on the Florida Humanities Council, please visit their website at: www.flahum.org. The FHC currently has a special offer for new or renewing members. Join or make a donation before June 1, 2005 and receive your choice of one of three prints by photographer Jeff Ripple, whose photographs like the one above, are featured in the article referenced above.

This picture is part of the walking trail at the new Sebastian Stormwater Park off Englar Drive. The park will be open to the public sometime next year when the St. Johns River Water Management District turns it over to the city.

The SJRWMD is looking for volunteers to help with planting native plants in the park and creating new trails. If you are interested in helping, please send us an email to let us know you are interested!

This picture came from a PowerPoint presentation given to the Friends by Troy Rice, Director of the St. Johns - Indian River Lagoon Program, on January 25, 2005. If you would like to download the entire PowerPoint presentation (3.4 MB) with many more pictures of the park, please click here. You will need either the Microsoft Office PowerPoint program (or similar software) or the free PowerPoint Viewer. If you would like to download the free PowerPoint Viewer software from Microsoft, please click here.

The Florida House of Representatives Mural Project

In the late 1990s, the Florida House of Representatives undertook major renovations of the House Chamber. As part of the project, Speaker John Thrasher and the House commissioned artist Christopher Still of Tarpon Springs to paint a series of eight murals highlighting Florida’s long and diverse history. These murals now permanently hang in the House Chamber.

Melane Byrd, a 7th grade teacher and wife of House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, has led an effort to teach the stories behind these murals to Florida students. Mrs. Byrd is working with the Department of Education and educators to incorporate the history depicted in these murals into art and history classes across the state. The curriculum being prepared for the fall of 2004 will include a video and detailed guide explaining each piece of art and the history within each mural. A book titled This Land Called Florida will also be available for purchase by school media centers throughout the state.

The House website features these murals online with descriptions reflecting the attention to historically-significant details carefully depicted by Mr. Still. The mural featured above is titled, “In Ages Past.”