After a six-year break, the Great Canoe Races of Naples are back—this time with a new mission in mind.
The decades-old tradition, which began in 1977, returns Saturday at Baker Park. This year, race organizers are partnering with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to make the event more eco-conscious.
“We're asking all the vendors at our vendor fair, which is 40-plus vendors, to commit to no single-use plastics, no rubber products and just paper products and recyclable plastics,” said Morgan Layton with the Great Canoe Races of Naples.
The city of Naples previously paused the races after past events drew rowdy crowds. Now, with the move to Baker Park, which offers more space than the previous location at the Naples City Dock, organizers are expecting their largest turnout yet.
“I think previous years were around 600 to 800, maybe 900 people. We're anticipating around 2,000 people for our event,” Layton said.
Because the event lands on Father’s Day weekend, organizers say even more people could show up. And tradition holds that the unofficial after-party heads to Keewaydin Island, a popular boating destination just north of Marco Island.
But environmental experts are urging people to be mindful of what lies just beneath their feet.
“We have over 200 nests here on Keewaydin Island, stretching from the north all the way to the south,” said Conservancy biologist Vanessa Booher.
With so many nests on the shoreline, biologists warn that large crowds pose a serious risk to both the eggs and sea turtles.
“And so you get quite a crowd on the weekends. That can be a problem, especially for wildlife,” said Kathy Worley, director of science at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
Trash is another concern for conservationists.
“A lot of plastic, really, ends up on these islands, and it can impact turtles. It can be anything that eats it. Shorebirds, anything,” Worley said.
That’s why this weekend, the message from both organizers and conservationists is simple: Have fun, be safe, and leave nothing but footprints.
The Great Canoe Races of Naples take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Baker Park.
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