Q&A with Janai Kearney, Executive Director of Keep Riverdale Beautiful
Young people around the world are stepping up to improve our environment, and the youth of Riverdale are no exception. Join us for a conversation about recycling, public art projects, and the lasting impression volunteer opportunities can provide.
You started this role in 2018. What drew you to the position?
Prior to this role, I was a sales coordinator for the city. That allowed me to tap into my passions for event planning and decorating, but it didn’t necessarily push me enough. I love a challenge, so when I was approached about taking this on, I knew I would have a lot of exciting work to do for Riverdale. The program was in its infancy then, and I felt I would be the best candidate because I could prepare it for long-term success. I grew up in Riverdale and graduated from school here, so I knew what we needed. I knew how to speak to our community and get them involved, and what it would take to get people to buy into the program.
Have you always been an advocate for the environment?
Absolutely. It’s something that was engrained in me as a child. My parents were always huge advocates of recycling, even when most people in our community weren’t. We didn’t even have a curbside program until I was in middle school, but we had a drop-off location. They would take us up there and explain the difference between trash and recycling, how you could reduce waste, and what you could repurpose. They always encouraged us to not be litter bugs either, and to take care of the environment. My dad loved watching birds and being outdoors, so it’s just something that became second nature to me.
Tell us about some of your favorite projects or initiatives so far. (We know you've had to get extra creative over the last year or so!)
Some of my favorite projects center around beautification and youth programming. I enjoy working with kids, especially elementary and middle school students. Their minds are still impressionable, and they’re receptive to digesting behavior change—recycling, litter education, things like that. I’ve tapped into partnerships with local elementary schools and art clubs; for example, a few years back we worked with the police and fire departments to paint 13 or 14 fire hydrants around the city. The kids chose the designs and painted them to reflect their locations. The ones outside their school have their colors and mascot, and one of the ones at the fire department has a little fire dog on it. They did the one down at City Hall in red, white, and blue. Every time I go out and see them, I’m proud, and I’m sure the students feel that way too. Hopefully the hydrants will still be in place when they’re grown up. When they’re married and have kids, they’ll say, hey—we had something to do with that.
We also unveiled three community statues a few weeks ago, which took some doing! It’s taken two years to secure a grant and get it all done, but the project taps into youth again, which I love. They’re the ones who will be here when we’re gone. Each statue features children reading or playing, and they’ve been placed on raised flower beds to discourage climbing. They reflect the demographics of our city too, which is really important to me. They’re beautiful, and way better than I ever even imagined.
One of three new statues in downtown Riverdale
What more do you envision for Keep Riverdale Beautiful? When you think about the future, what do you get excited about?
I envision Keep Riverdale Beautiful becoming a way of life for our residents. I want it to be the go-to program to address community needs. I want to continue initiatives that our residents look forward to, like roadside cleanups and electronic recycling. We actually offer that 24/7 now because of demand. Now that people have been educated about what they can recycle, and because it’s been an ideal time to clean out garages and backyards, they’re properly disposing of things that would normally be thrown in a ditch or on the curb. Now they know they can take those items to us, and if we don’t accept something, we inform residents of where else they can take their trash. Here you can bring old TV sets to Value Village, for example.
When I think about the future of our program, I get most excited about our youth growing up with it. We’ve seen increased participation from high school students that need volunteer hours, and I love that they can see our initiatives as an opportunity to give back to the community. They can see the vision and the impact that they have from being environmental stewards. It’s definitely all about getting them more involved.
Any advice for people looking to make their communities cleaner, greener, or more beautiful?
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to lead by example. People are creatures of habit, and you can start new ones by picking up litter, recycling, or planting flowers in your yard. It’s the simple things—some people leave their trash bins on the curb for weeks at a time, so even just bringing those in and educating children about the importance of the idea. It’s imperative to make our community a better place and show our kids the right way to do it.