Springtime Event May 2023 — Wild Amelia Nature Festival

Celebration Of Bioregion

The Wild Amelia Nature Festival is a 3-day celebration of the bioregion here at the Florida-Georgia border happening May 19 – 21, 2023.

Wild Amelia Expo — May 20, 2023

The free admission Wild Amelia nature “Expo” with “Kids’Niche” is scheduled for Saturday, May 20, 2023 at the Fernandina Beach Recreation Center on Atlantic Avenue from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This one-day “Expo” includes exhibitor booths, live critters, food trucks, musical entertainment and fun nature activities for kids.

Traditionally, the Wild Amelia Nature Festival features a sea turtle release at Fernandina’s Main Beach coordinated with Georgia’s sea turtle research, rehabilitation, and education facility, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. The sea turtle release is dependent on the readiness of rehabbed sea turtles to be returned back to the sea. (Photos from a past sea turtle release at Main Beach are below.)

Eco Tours To Explore Coastal Nature

Eco tours are offered during the Festival to explore natural areas such as the island’s Egans Greenway and Fort Clinch State Park. Nature walks include birding (a free walk to Crane Island), native plants in the Greenway (free) and the maritime forest (fee for entry to Fort Clinch State Park). Other Eco tours are also offered through independent local businesses, available for purchase. For those who’d prefer to see coastal nature from the perspective of the water, an option is taking a kayaking tour. There’s also opportunity to get out on a river boat for a special cruise on Friday, May 19, 2023 — the Wild Amelia sunset cruise (with “heavy hors d’oeuvres”). BYOB and hop aboard Amelia River Cruises from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (tickets $50).

Keep Nassau Beautiful

In the past a separate organization, Wild Amelia has transitioned more recently to become one of the programs offered by Keep Nassau Beautiful. Want to learn more? Further details on all activities and daily Eco tours being offered are available at Keep Nassau Beautiful’s website.

Wild Nites

During the year, Wild Amelia also offers the “Wild Nite” educational lecture series with expert speakers.

Nature Photography Contest

Each year, Wild Amelia holds their photo contest. Entries come from novices, pros and kids (adult amateurs, adult professionals or in the youth category (by age). Wild Amelia produces a nature calendar featuring the contest’s winning images. The photos are also displayed at an exhibit at the Fort Clinch Visitor Center building. Learn more about Wild Amelia’s annual nature photo contest.

Nature Scenes, Flora & Fauna Around Amelia Island

Amelia Island Living, through 20-plus years of publishing, has often featured photographs of nature scenes captured here around the Florida-Georgia border. Some images seen below are from our archives.

Amelia Island Living’s Photo Gallery

Editor’s note: — This article was updated May 10, 2023.