Jess Hardy and Katherine Triplett met while working at a primate sanctuary.
Now good friends, Hardy, 26, and Triplett, 25, spent Sunday afternoon walking around and looking at the tables lining the lawn at First Magnitude Brewing Company. Each table advocated a different local environmental organization as part of the inaugural Fall Festival for the Environment.
“We are constantly having to educate people about the pet trade,” Hardy said.
The two women were part of about 100 people who came to the festival, where attendees made $5 and $10 donations to drink, eat and raise money to rid invasive plants from parts of Gainesville. The event was hosted by the Gainesville Arts and Parks Foundation.
Kentucky Costellow, who organized the festival, said the proceeds will benefit the Great Invader Raider Rally, which will be held Jan. 28. During the rally, volunteers will help remove thousands of pounds of non-native plants from the city.
“My main intention is to instill responsibility in people,” she said.
To prepare for the rally, Sunday’s event raised awareness about the presence of invasive species that “causes a kink” in the ecosystem, she said. Alachua County Forever, Gainesville Greenway Challenge and Florida Invasive Species Partnership were some of the organizations that attended.
Rose Godfrey, a UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences extension outreach coordinator, stood in front of the FISP table, which was lined with the skin of a Burmese python.
The python is one of many species that do not belong in Florida, the 36-year-old said. One of the partnership’s main goals is to reduce the number of introduced species so native species don’t suffer the consequences.
“We could hopefully restore the balance so that children will have biodiversity,” she said.
