Get Involved!
Individual Actions Matter!
- Become an Eco-Rep! This program through the Sustainability Council offers in-depth campus sustainability training for all students, faculty, and staff willing to take a leadership role and become a point-person for peer-to-peer mentoring about sustainability in their building, unit, department, club, or residence hall. Eco-Reps also participate in on-going service opportunities. Full details here, or Follow on . Contact Eco-Reps Director, Brian Barnes at 502-338-1338 or brian.barnes (at) louisville.edu.
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Volunteer! The Sustainability Council can put your skills and interests to work. Meeting schedules for the Sustainability Council and all of its Committees are available here. Students, faculty, staff, and friends are always welcome. For questions contact UofL's sustainability coordinator, Justin Mog, 502-852-8575.
Our standing weekly service opportunities include:- Fight food insecurity and climate change by keeping leftovers out of the landfill with the Food Recovery Network - UofL Chapter, and the Cardinal Cupboard free campus food pantry in SAC W312!
- UofL's Community Composting Project needs volunteers every Sunday, Noon-2pm, 240 E. Bloom St. (one block north of Cardinal Blvd. between Brook & Floyd Streets - map here). Follow on
- UofL Free Store in SAC W303C is run by volunteers who help process donations and keep the store tidy and organized in support of the project to help keep useful items out of the landfill while meeting the needs of their peers. Follow on or
- Help manage UofL's Campus Gardens! The Garden Commons has weekly group workdays year-round or you can stop by on your own time to help out. Sign-up here to stay informed and follow on or
- Participate in some of the many UofL Sustainability Events throughout the year!
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Pledge! Take the Cards Go Green! Pledge to increase your personal sustainability!
Graduating? Take the Sustainability Graduation Pledge to make social and environmental responsibility part of your life after UofL, too! -
Take Action! Use these tools to help inform, sustain, and track your personal actions for sustainability: Joulebug (sustainability mobile app), GoingGreenToday (personal green coach), Energy Efficiency Mobile Apps.
>> See our Green Tips page for more ideas about what you can do to lead a more sustainable life and help improve our community right here in Louisville.
>> The Louisville Climate Action Network offers many more Simple Steps, Bigger Steps, Civic Steps, and Sharing Steps to help you on your journey to greater sustainability! - Understand your impact! Use these online tools to calculate your Ecological Footprint (an estimate how much land area it takes to support your lifestyle) and calculate your Carbon Footprint (an estimate of your greenhouse gas emissions) and learn how to be part of the solution!
- Offset your carbon emissions through a service such as Climate Vault, which uses your donation to buy carbon pollution permits on government regulated cap & trade markets and then use them to fund highly vetted, government regulated projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere. Other options include Patch (official partner of the Carbon Commitment/Second Nature), Carbon Footprint Ltd, Native Energy, CarbonFund, TerraPass, or for free (through commissions) with UCapture.
- Donate here to support our work through the Green Fund for UofL! Your contributions directly support our sustainability initiatives! Select the "Green Fund for UofL" under Designations when contributing to the university - or simply click here for a pre-filled form.
Join a Campus Sustainability Group
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UofL Sustainability Council- All students, faculty, staff, and friends are welcome any time!
- Meeting schedules (all are welcome!)
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- Read our Blog
- Signup for our Newsletter
- UofL Eco-Reps - Students, faculty, and staff who are trained to serve as a point-person for peer-to-peer mentoring about sustainability in their building, unit, department, or residence hall.
- Health Sciences Center (HSC) Green Team - Contact the Chair, Andrew Roberts (859-595-8587). Join us on LinkTree! Follow on or
- Law School Sustainability Committee - Contact the Chair, Scott Campbell. Follow on
- Campus Tree Advisory Committee - Contact the Chair, Justin Mog.
Join a Student Group
- Student Sustainability Coalition - Provides networking and mentorship in sustainability. Hosts the Divest UofL campaign - Follow on Engage or .
- UofL Free Store - contact Emily Minnis. Follow on or
- UofL Garden Commons - contact Savannah Dowell. Follow on or
- Engage.Lead.Serve. Board's Green Initiatives Committee
Sustainability Community Canoe Trip
- Ecology and Sustainability Themed Community - UofL’s Sustainability Council and Biology department are partnering together to host a new sustainability and natural world themed community, launching in 2023-24 in University Tower Apartments and open to students from any year. This community is perfect for students in the Biology BS, Ecology Track and students from any major who are interested in sustainability, including those majoring in Sustainability through the department of Urban and Public Affairs. Students in this themed community will have opportunities to cement the lessons of the classroom through practical application, service, and community building. Full details and application here.
- Environmental Health Sciences Club - For UofL students interested in the field of Environmental Health. Students will be able to attend lectures, workshops, research and outreach programs related to environmental health and justice. Follow on Engage or .
- SEEDS Ecology Club - Focused on increasing diversity and opportunities in ecology through hiking, field trips, guest speakers, mentorships, etc. Interest form. Join our GroupMe. Follow on Engage or .
- Food Recovery Network - UofL Chapter - 2023-24 volunteers should contact Tuesday Shaw / Cardinal Cupboard food pantry
- Engineers Without Borders - UofL Student Chapter - Join us on Engage. Follow on
- UofL Clean Water Professionals - Join on Teams.
- Mindfulness Meditation Club - Follow on Engage.
- UofL Chapter of Commonwealth Policy Coalition
- Young Democratic Socialists of America at UofL - organizing in the movement for social justice with a vision of socialism that is profoundly democratic, feminist, and anti-racist. Working with labor campaigns to organize student workers and staff; to defend immigrants; to divest from fossil fuels; and to do anti-poverty work through local mutual aid programs. Follow on WhatsApp or Engage.
- Students for a Socialist Revolution - helping students from all backgrounds to engage in Communist Political Philosophy, and assisting you in your journey through the realm of political thought. Join us on Engage or Follow on
- Student Cycling Coalition - Follow on or or Engage. Manages UofL's official Collegiate Division 1 Cycling Team: UofL Cycling & Triathlon, UofLCycling@gmail.com
- Clean 4 Cards - Join to help clean up and beautify our campus as well as promote good habits on or Engage or GroupMe.
- Students for Reproductive Freedom - The Planned Parenthood campus affiliate group at UofL. Join us on Engage. Follow on
- UofL Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter - Join us on Engage. Follow on
- The Botanical Society - Connect on Engage, LinkTree, GroupMe, Microsoft Teams, or Instagram.
- Biology Graduate Student Association - Join us on Engage.
- Environmental Law & Land Use Society
- Louisville Students for Justice in Palestine - Follow on .
- Expedition Cards - a group focusing on exploration, outdoor activities, and protection of public lands. Follow on or Engage.
UofL's 2013 Solar Decathlon team of students designed and built the fully-powered Phoenix House! Read more about the team's success in the national competition here!
Faculty Involvement
- Courses: Consider weaving sustainability themes into the classes you teach or offering new courses focused on sustainability. Our Green Threads program can help you get started.
- Research: Because sustainability concerns are interdisciplinary and universal, there's no end to the possibilities for you and your students. Whether your focus is off-campus or helping make UofL a living laboratory of sustainability, our Research page will give you some resources and ideas to get started.
- Lead By Example: Faculty are mentors to the next generation. Students learn not only from your lectures and assignments but by observing your actions. "Walk the talk" by following these Green Tips for more sustainable behaviors!
All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to get involved in UofL's Sustainability Council at any time!
Updated meeting schedules for the Council and all of its Committees are available here. All are welcome at all meetings. New members can come to any meeting and introduce yourself. We look forward to seeing you!