It was a dolphin that made Nicole Killian think differently about hurricane recovery.
She had been preoccupied before she heard about it, she remembers, because that’s what happens during disasters. First, you worry about safety and make sure that your neighbors and family are OK. Then you start thinking about repairs and bills and the lack of flood insurance, about the need to clean mold and the dumpsters required for soggy carpets, about when the tourists might come back so that people can work.
With all those human worries, it can be hard to remember the natural world – even for someone like Ms. Killian, a conservationist and naturalist who has made a livelihood out of sharing the waterways of her hometown on Florida’s west coast.
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Hurricanes often devastate waterways. Cleanups can show the power of residents coming together.
But then there was that dolphin.
A week after Hurricane Milton sent a storm surge over Englewood in October, the animal was tangled in a crab trap that had gotten dislodged not far from the boat launch where Ms. Killian kept the kayaks and paddleboards for her business, SUP Englewood.
A team from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had come to try to free the dolphin. And as biologists worked to save the animal and release it back into Lemon Bay, Ms. Killian and her husband, Raymond, knew they needed to do something. “We had always known we wanted to help clean up the waterway,” she says. But after hearing about the dolphin, “We knew we needed to act fast.”
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For those who love and work in Florida’s waterways, the fall’s storms were devastating. Milton’s storm surge not only pulled up dock piers and ruined homes – the Killians’ security camera on the marina, placed 8 feet high, was underwater, and nearby State Road 776 was a river with whitecaps – but also sent debris and belongings everywhere, like a toddler throwing a Lego set.
The mangroves Ms. Killian guides tourists through were filled with plastic bags, drywall, and splintered two-by-fours. And that was just what had washed ashore. More wreckage, from destroyed crab traps to dislodged construction material, was in the water, threatening the area’s rich marine life.
Enlisting an army
Mangroves are the ecosystem’s natural filter. But the Killians recognized that in this situation, the plants needed an assist. So they decided to organize a group to paddle along the banks of Lemon Bay and remove trash. “We decided to call it Waterway Warriors,” she says. “Because we need an army of environmentalists to help.”
Cleaning up mangroves isn’t straightforward. One needs to get close from the water side, which is why the Killians’ fleet of kayaks and paddleboards was so helpful. There also needs to be volunteers, boats, and a way to remove debris. (It’s not as if someone can put a soggy mattress into a kitchen trash bag and paddle away with it.)
The Killians realized that they’d be more effective if they tapped into their own ecosystem of people who love the water. One of these individuals was Rhonda Harvey, who runs Keep Charlotte Beautiful, a nonprofit that organizes waterway cleanups around Charlotte County. “I was so excited when Nicole called,” Ms. Harvey says.
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Hurricanes, she explains, pose a particular problem for environmentalists concerned about trash in the ocean. The storms tend to come after annual summer waterway cleanups, she says, so they often undo those efforts. The type of debris left by storms is unique, with items like refrigerators and mattresses getting lodged in trees. And all of this is on the home turf of animals that are themselves stressed and recovering from the habitat disruption of a hurricane.
“It’s not just us who depend on this environment,” Ms. Harvey says.
Ms. Harvey offered to supply Waterway Warriors with 95-gallon trash bags, gloves, and tools to grab debris. She also offered to spread the word about the cleanup.
The Killians used social media to advertise the initiative. More than 40 volunteers showed up at the first cleanup in late November. “We pulled out one refrigerator and one dishwasher,” Mr. Killian remembers.
“A lot of triumph”
On Dec. 14, even more volunteers came. These were people ready to get into kayaks to help, as well as those with boats, who offered to haul off the trash.
Scott Hare was in this latter group.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Mr. Hare is an Englewood-based captain in the Freedom Boat Club, a service that offers members access to boats for a monthly fee. He had read about the planned cleanup on Facebook and asked his employer to donate a boat for the cause. It ended up being one of six boats that showed up, he says – far more than the Killians expected.
The volunteers pulled out propane tanks and metal sheeting, dock remnants and crab traps. There was even a waterlogged box spring, which, Mr. Hare notes, is not easy to lift onto a boat. “Everybody was happy to be there and glad somebody was doing something,” he says. “There was a lot of laughter, a lot of smiles, a lot of triumph.”
Indeed, an unnerving phenomenon occurs with hurricanes, Mr. Killian says. Some people’s lives are turned upside down, with ruined homes and lost jobs. Others are just fine. In a tight-knit community like this one, where neighbors know one another, that can leave survivors’ guilt – and a deep desire to help.
The Waterway Warriors cleanups turned out to be as much for the people as they are for the mangroves and the other creatures that live in the area. The Killians plan to do quarterly cleanups, coordinating with Keep Charlotte Beautiful. And they have started a monthly Coffee and Conservation meetup, where they invite representatives from nature groups around Florida to give short presentations and chat with residents.
“We’ve learned we’re a strong community,” Ms. Killian says. “We’ve learned that people want to help.”
