Meme Sweets Runyon grew up close to the Ohio River, and she’s now spent decades as a vigorous voice for its protection. Today, it’s . And where riverbanks were once clotted with industry and brownfields, Louisville and Southern Indiana have worked to establish greenways and a waterfront for the public — albeit with a long way to go.
In her 38 years leading River Fields, a local river and land conservancy, Runyon said the organization has served a crucial role as an advocate for the river and its history. The group protecting more than 2,000 acres of local land in perpetuity, has raised alarms about and serves as a guardian of . This spring, Runyon passed the reins to Kristin Faurest, the group’s new president and CEO.
In an interview with The Courier Journal, Faurest described a personal mission to protect the public’s access and connection to local waterways. “When you hear about kids who grow up without any place to go to swim or wade ..
. no swimming hole, no swimming pool, nothing in the neighborhood, I think that's absolutely tragic,” she said. Faurest's girlhood was shaped by the Ohio River, having grown up along its banks in Southern Indiana.
She touted the value of having water access as a child, and pointed to “a big equity issue” in that access across the U.S. “I feel very lucky to have grown up with that,” she said.
“And it's turned me into a grown-up who's very passionate about everybody having what I had as a kid.” Faurest, an educator an.