Reservoir Botanical Gardens Braille Trail in Brandon, MS

Keep America Beautiful® is proud to announce our next Affiliate of the Month. In this KAB initiative, we feature the great work being done in our network of 700 certified affiliates. Our Affiliate of the Month for November 2023 is Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful (KBVB). 

Keep the Rez Beautiful is being recognized for the Innovation Award they received from KAB in 2022. The Keep America Beautiful Innovation Award salutes affiliates that have created innovative partnerships and programs to further the mission of KAB. 

Q&A with Keep the Rez Beautiful (KRB) 

Director Jeannine May: 

How long have you been an integral part of KRB, and what roles have you fulfilled during your tenure? 

Jeannine: The idea of the KRB journey began in 2007 when Pelahatchie Bay (our backyard) on the Ross Barnett Reservoir became filled with sediment from urban construction. I called the state agency that we lease our lot from – the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District (PRVWSD) – and told them they needed to do something about it. They wanted to meet with me. Little did I know when we purchased our home that they couldn’t stop what drains in through watersheds into the Reservoir. 

So, with the help of neighbors, volunteers, and co-workers, we started trying to educate the developers, county, and homeowners about the degradation being caused to the Rez from sediment, the #1 pollutant, litter, and more. Through DEQ grants and USDA support, we created the first “Waterfest” and educated children and adults. It continued for several years. The county compliance laws aren’t as strong as our cities. A co-worker friend said, “You need to form a Keep the Rez Beautiful.” I told her she was crazy. I had a full-time USDA public affairs job and worked with the best environmental people on the face of this Earth – farmers, landowners, engineers, soil scientists, geologists, biologists, foresters, and more. Little did I know, my career and childhood experiences set the stage for my journey. 

This rural Reservoir area, now home to 30,000 residents, is also a resort area with 8,000 PRV leaseholders and draws thousands of visitors annually. PRVWSD encompasses four counties, four campgrounds, recreational trails, 33,000 acres of water, and 45,000 acres of woodland areas. 

It took several years, with the help of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, KAB, many conservation friends, and the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, to become a KAB certified affiliate in 2011. It wasn’t easy as the new Director, working full-time for USDA and finding people to serve on our Board. But I knew that KAB was the answer to helping. By the grace of my father above, family support, and loads of volunteers – it was a task I knew in my heart was meant to be. To whom much is given, much is required. 

Could you share the origins of your passion for the environment and environmental stewardship?  

Jeannine: I grew up in the same county I live in presently. My passion for making things beautiful and learning about the conservation of natural resources began on our family farm. Our family had a small fish farm, and the importance of clean water quality was inevitable for sustainability. There were trash dumps along the road that led to the minnow lakes due to no trash pickups in the county in this rural area. I never understood why this litter had to happen and how ugly it was! 

Years later, I was teaching science and earning a master’s degree in education. I enrolled in two environmental education workshops for teachers to finish my degree. Those workshops changed my life, and I was offered a job working with the Hinds County Soil & Water Conservation District to educate adults and children about conservation. Several years later, I was offered a job in public affairs for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

In 1999, my husband and I decided to purchase an older home on the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The 33,000 Reservoir built in the 1960s furnishes Jackson, our capital city, with its drinking water supply and flows downstream through the Pearl River to the Gulf of Mexico. The Rez is home to many migratory birds and endangered species of wildlife. Little did we know that my KRB journey would begin in 2007 when the bay water (our backyard) became filled with sediment from upstream urban construction, not to mention litter! My husband told me that my career had come “Full Circle.” Now, do something about it! Water quality is my passion, and educating thousands of children and adults about watersheds and the conservation of all seven natural resources has been an integral part of my career and retirement.” 

The projects included mending broken pavement along the 0.6-mile paved trail; laying tactile strips and adding yellow striping along the entire trail; installing signage with Braille along 13 stops in the Gardens featuring wildlife, forestry, water quality, conservation, geology, and more. An audio explanation of the stops was created for the visually impaired. The PRVWSD – State agency employees worked fervently alongside the team to keep everything in compliance. We also created a children’s sensory garden area, and Boy Scouts built informational kiosks and benches. As a result, KRB also established “Friends of the Reservoir Gardens” to help with future projects. We held the 1st GAC Earth Day event in the gardens in 2022, with over 400 attendees, and another one is planned for this year. This project has enabled KRB to find more volunteers and new KRB Board members to assist with all of KRB’s projects. Additionally, we built an outdoor classroom area in one of the PRVWSD campgrounds and erected signage about wildlife, trees, and natural resources in the Upper Pearl River that drains into the Reservoir.” 

Beyond the Innovation Award, are there other accomplishments or undertakings involving your staff and volunteers that evoke a strong sense of pride? 

Jeannine: We were certified by KAB in 2011. Since then, we have provided information and volunteers to the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District to help clean up islands on the upper Pearl River, and now permits are required to camp. KRB worked with PRVWSD to close the lower Spillway area down due to tons of litter, where many fish and recreate. Permits are now required in this area. As a result of this effort, KRB spearheaded the 1st entire Pearl River Clean Sweep several years ago. The media attention that was brought on by shutting the Spillway area down was received in lower Louisiana, and a volunteer came forward and formed the Pearl River Keepers. Thousands of tons of litter have been retrieved since the Clean Sweep started in 2017. Each year the amount collected has been reduced by thousands of pounds collected from the Upper Pearl River, Reservoir, and all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. The PRVWSD Board of Directors supports us in all our volunteer efforts. We developed the Turtle Point Nature Area in 2011, another nature area on the Bay through KAB, UPS, and Lowe’s grants. People enjoy walking, kayaking—picking up litter, and watching wildlife in the beautiful area KRB, PRVWSD, and volunteers have created.

Thanks to KAB for the UPS, Lowes, Cigarette Litter grants, which have made all of our projects possible! We have hosted an Electronic Recycle Day for 7 years and are about to host our 8th on Nov. 4 as part of America’s Recycle Day. On December 1, we are hosting an inaugural Christmas celebration in the Botanical Gardens – “Come help us celebrate all creatures great and small!” Volunteers will be making wildlife-friendly and recyclable decorations for trees, and a Story Walk will be featured on the Braille Trail signs throughout the Gardens, featuring Eve Bunting’s Night Tree. Our local library and others are partnering with this inaugural event! We are also planting wildflower trails with the help of Keep Mississippi Beautiful and are about to embark on a new campaign to prevent litter! Our Board just voted last week to apply for the statewide KMB “Great American Clean Up,” and we are getting ready to apply. 

Earth Day on the Reservoir 2023 is covered by WLBT-TV.

We’re curious to learn more about the dedicated individuals who constitute the staff and volunteer base at Keep The Rez Beautiful.  

Jeannine: Oh, there are too many dedicated individuals: firemen, churches, school groups, civic clubs, media, businesses, local elected officials, and others, to count, who have helped start and continue our journey. It is overwhelming to look back at all of our pictures since 2007 and see the caring individuals who want to make this place more beautiful. While volunteering – picking up litter, planting trees, or cleaning up the Gardens – there are more opportunities to recruit volunteers. I have served as the volunteer Director since 2011, and several of our Board members are still serving. We don’t have staff—just wonderful volunteers. Evidently, this great group of Board members, volunteers, and others just keep us keeping on, as Mom used to say. 

Since my USDA retirement in 2014, it has been exciting moving forward full force with our endeavors. Through our project efforts, we have added new Board members who are younger and live in the Reservoir area. We also have an Advisory Board and volunteers helping with social media. They are supporting all of the efforts and coming up with new ideas. My husband, our daughter, son-in-law, and our 9-year-old granddaughter have all been avid supporters of my efforts. They help with many of the projects. Our journey hasn’t been easy, but we are teaching people to learn to love where they live and recreate! Through the support of PRVWSD, neighbors, volunteers, board members, supervisors, and so many others, our efforts are shining. Some days, I hide and retreat into our beautiful backyard on the Rez or take a walk in the Gardens, Turtle Point Nature Area, and ponder the thought of retiring. Then someone calls, wants to help, and my energy level picks up, and off I go again. 

All of the wonderful things happening to make our Reservoir area more beautiful wouldn’t be taking place without Keep Mississippi Beautiful and the Keep America Beautiful network. I thank all of you for your gracious support and look forward to many more years of service! KRB’s journey is just beginning. Our hopes are that the younger generations we are educating will be future ‘Keepers of the Rez.’ 

About Keep America Beautiful®:

Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful® strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green, and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. The organization is driven by the work and passion of 700 Keep America Beautiful® affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

McCall Vrydaghs

Keep America Beautiful®

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