Events — UofL Sustainability

Events

Sustainability events are happening year-round at UofL! Don't miss out!

Date	Event
Every Sunday	UofL Community Composting Volunteer Day Every Sunday, Noon-2pm 250 E. Bloom St. (one block north of Cardinal Blvd. between Brook & Floyd Streets - map here) Come help us turn “trash” into treasure as we manage UofL’s volunteer-powered community composting operation. Dress to get dirty. Tools provided. Learn about worm composting and becoming a UofL EcoRep! All participants will be welcome to haul back home some rich UofL compost for their own gardening projects in whatever containers/vehicles they bring. This is a weekly service opportunity throughout the year. Contact: Brian Barnes, 502-338-1338.
Jan. 21, 2019	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Monday, January 21, 2019 Events in honor of the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and intended to educate the UofL campus and community on the importance of actualizing Dr. King’s ideals of social justice, non-violence, education, and service. Events will include: 10am-2pm - MLK Day of Service (meetup in SAC Multipurpose Room) MLK Day of Service has been an American tradition since 1994. Sponsored by UofL’s Engage Lead Serve Board, participants will enjoy free food and a free t-shirt. No registration required. Volunteers should meet in the SAC Multipurpose Room at 10am to sign up for a service site. The UofL Sustainability Council is hosting an on-campus service site at our volunteer-powered community composting project. At 10:30am, we will feature a speaker, and at 11:00am, we will provide transportation to service sites. Participants will be back on campus by 2:00pm. We encourage you to join us and become part of the UofL community in making MLK Day a “day on, not a day off.” Contact talktous@uoflelsb.org with any questions! 1:00pm - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration: The Beauty of Diversity, The Courage to Serve (The Playhouse) Please join the UofL African American Theatre Program for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. This year we will be partnering with the Yearlings Club to bring you an exciting program that you don't want to miss. This event is free and open to the public!
Jan. 8 - Apr. 19, 2019	UofL Free Store Tuesday-Thursday 11am-1pm, and Fridays 2-5pm, Unitas Tower basement UofL’s Free Store is open Tuesday-Thursday 11am-1pm, and Fridays 2-5pm throughout the spring in the Unitas Tower basement (enter from driveway off Cardinal Blvd). All students & employees are welcome to "shop" for free clothing, shoes, household items, books, school & art supplies, non-perishable food, etc. Donations are accepted any time in the red bins outside the Store. Help us keep useful stuff out of the landfill while helping those in need – Volunteers are needed each week to open the store and sort donations. UofL promotes an inclusive environment for all, regardless of gender identity and/or gender expression. The Free Store is a Transgender-Friendly space. The Free Store is closed whenever the university is not in session. Follow on Instagram or To volunteer, contact UofL's Zero Waste Intern: Razija Mehinović (502-974-1843, razija.mehinovic@louisville.edu).
Thursdays through Feb. 21, 2019	Social Justice Movements: Past and Present Thursdays Jan. 17 - Feb. 21, 6:30 - 8:00pm, Main Library (301 York Street) This free, six-week short course open to all will offer historical and contemporary perspectives on a variety of social justice movements. Six scholars from the University of Louisville's Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research and Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice will explore aspects of social movement-building on topics such as racial justice, youth-led immigrant justice, LGBTQ rights, and solidarity, among others. This short course is free, but registration is requested. Call (502) 574-1623 to reserve your spot.
Jan. 25, 2019	EcoReps Lunch & Learn: Robyn Whitted, KY EXCEL Friday, Jan. 25th at Noon, Ekstrom Library room W210 Join us for our monthly EcoReps Lunch & Learn workshop featuring a free vegetarian lunch and locals making a difference in sustainability! To kickoff the spring series, we'll hear from Robyn Whitted, Director of KY EXCEL - Kentucky Excellence in Environmental Leadership. KY EXCEL is the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection's voluntary environmental leadership program. The program offers unique opportunities for public, corporate, and private sectors to improve Kentucky’s diverse and wonderful environment by: Providing multiple membership levels that are open to any individual, organization, community or business that wishes to voluntarily contribute to Kentucky’s environmental excellence; Publicly recognizing environmental stewardship and superior environmental performance; Offering incentives to encourage participation and growth within the program; and Aligning with other leadership programs, including U.S. EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track program. The Sustainability Council’s EcoReps program is designed to move students, faculty & staff beyond talk to action for a more sustainable UofL! We provide basic training & resources, service opportunities, and leadership positions as a point-person & peer-to-peer advocate for sustainability. This spring, we continue our series of in-person workshops each month on last Fridays at noon in Ekstrom Library room W210. Join us for lunch and bring your reusable plate, utensils, and cup to minimize waste! All are welcome. More info on EcoReps website.
Fridays, Jan. 11 - Apr. 19, 2019	Garden Commons Spring Workdays Fridays, 2:30-3:30pm, Garden Commons at the Cultural Center Join us in UofL's organic garden and greenhouse for our group workdays! Learn (by doing) how to grow hyper-local, super-delicious vegetables, herbs, and fruits! Anyone can work in the garden any time, but we'll gather together every Friday throughout the spring semester (Jan. 11 - Apr. 19) from 2:30pm to 3:30pm to start and tend seeds in the greenhouse, plant, weed, water, and harvest. No prior experience necessary. Tools & gloves provided. The Garden Commons is open to participation any time from students, staff, faculty, and community members. Everyone who comes is welcome to share in the harvest! Connect with us and get all the details on our Facebook Page.
Feb. 1, 2019	Sustainability Roundtable: Carolyn Waters on environmental education and citizen science Friday, Feb. 1st, 11am-noon, Urban Studies Room 200 (426 W Bloom St) Please join us for UofL's Sustainability Roundtable series on alternating Fridays at 11am! Our guest on February 1st will be Bellarmine University professor and environmental educator Carolyn Waters. Carolyn will facilitate a participatory presentation (in the nature of the research she is currently conducting) that demonstrates several of the projects she has been working on in one tidy bundle of ideas. Specifically, she will touch on: 1) photovoice methodology as a way to engage people outside of the usual sustainability "bubble" in environmental issues, 2) infusing critical pedagogy into environmental science classrooms, and 3) a demonstration of an iNaturalist citizen science project that is a collaboration between students in one of her Bellarmine courses and the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Anyone with an interest in sustainability can give talks at the Sustainability Roundtable and participate in the audience, including faculty, staff, students, practitioners, teachers, government officials, and members of the public. If you would like to give a presentation, or would like to hear a particular speaker, please contact Daniel DeCaro.
Feb. 1 - Mar. 30, 2019	Ecolympics 2019 February 1st to March 30th Two fun sustainability competitions to get you engaged in saving our one green planet! Ecolympics Kickoff Party - Thursday, January 31st 11am-1pm in the Red Barn. Campus Housing & UofL's Sustainability Council are throwing a party to launch Ecolympics 2019! Join us over lunch with a DJ, informational booths, Sustainability Quiz Bowl, prizes & more! Learn what you can do to make a difference, win the grand prize bicycle, and help your residence hall win the competition. Post your sustainable actions and tag @UofLSustainable to win a restored vintage Peugeot road bike, gift cards to Comfy Cow and Heine Bros. coffee, and other fabulous prizes! RecycleMania! - February 3 to March 30, 2019 A friendly annual competition among North American universities. During this 8 week period, UofL will compete to reduce waste, increase recycling & composting, and raise conservation awareness across all three campuses! Keep up with the Cards progress at the RecycleMania website. REDUCE & RECYCLE! Help the Cards to victory by *avoiding disposables* (bring your own mug, bottle, plate, etc.) and fully utilizing UofL’s amazingly easy, single-stream recycling system that lets you recycle everything in the same bin, everywhere on campus: all types of *plastic, paper, cardboard, metal, and glass! Details on what you can recycle at UofL here.* COMPOST! We will be collecting food wastes for composting from all Campus Housing locations and adding those numbers to UofL's organics recycling totals! Look for a compost collection bin in your residence hall's common kitchen or trash room, and add your organic wastes to our totals! Please no animal/dairy products or liquids, but otherwise, if it came from a plant, we want to compost it: *fruit & vegetable wastes/peels/rinds/seeds, bread, pasta, rice, tea bags, coffee grounds/filters, even paper products (tissues, towels, napkins, plates, cups, newspaper, etc.). RECYCLE E-WASTE!* We will be offering a collection of electronic wastes for recycling at both the Kick-Off event and in every residence hall's lobby throughout Ecolympics 2019! You can recycle any electronic consumer items, including: all computers, monitors, televisions, printers, copiers, scanners, servers, networking equipment, fax machines, telephones and cellphones, RAM/memory, hard drives, battery backups, and peripherals such as keyboards, mice, speakers, AC adapters, and mixed computer cables/wires. Please make sure your data has been wiped from your device before recycling. We will also have collections for recycling any type of battery, lamps, and ink/toner cartridges. Campus Conservation Nationals - February 1-21, 2019 *Live on campus? Win with conservation!* UofL residence halls will compete among each other and battle together against campuses across the country to see who can reduce electricity use the most over three weeks. All you have to do is stop wasting energy! Turn off lights/TVs/computers; unplug anything you're not actively using; skip the elevator for the stairs; close windows tightly; dry clothes on a rack/line; take quick showers or shower with solar power at the SRC; etc. Keep track of each hall's progress with UofL's Building Dashboard! Use the Dashboard to see how much electricity your hall is using and learn how you can conserve! Halls in the competition include: Bettie Johnson Hall Community Park (real-time data!) Kurz Hall (real-time data!) Louisville Hall (real-time data!) Miller Hall Threlkeld Hall Unitas Hall (real-time data!) University Tower Apartments (UTA) Prizes: In addition to a Green Renovation prize for the winning hall, one resident who takes the most steps during Ecolympics 2019 will win a restored vintage Peugeot road bike! *Post your sustainable actions and tag @UofLSustainable throughout February & March to be entered into the competition!*
Feb. 5, 2019	Social Justice 101 workshop Tuesday, Feb. 5th, 3-5pm, Hite Art Institute (Schneider Hall 104) All students are welcome to join UofL's Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research for a workshop introducing students to basic concepts of social justice. The first hour will be a panel with local social justice activists, followed by a tour of the “Organize Your Own” exhibit at the Hite Art Institute, ending with information on social justice research efforts fostered by the Consortium. Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP here by Feb. 1. Topics to be discussed include: • What is social justice? What is systemic/structural inequality? What is privilege? • How can students begin thinking about ways to work across lines of privilege and difference? • What different forms does social justice take (e.g. activism versus research)? • What are some resources for continuing to learn about social justice?
Feb. 6, 2019	Pizza & Politics with Adam Edelen Wednesday, February 6th, 4:00 – 4:45pm, SAC room TBA Democrat Adam Edelen is running for Governor with Gil Holland as Lt. Governor on a platform that is heavily focused on renewable energy and other issues of key concern to the advancement of sustainability. Edelen and Holland invite UofL students to have your voices heard about the issues facing Kentucky from your perspective. Both candidates will briefly speak followed by an open question-and-answer session. This is your opportunity to ask the difficult questions that will help further refine their platform. Free pizza will be provided to all attendees. Hosted by UofL Young Democrats.
Feb. 15, 2019	Sustainability Roundtable Friday, Feb. 15th, 11am-noon, Urban Studies Room 200 (426 W Bloom St) Please join us for UofL's Sustainability Roundtable series on alternating Fridays at 11am! The format is a 30-40 minute presentation from a variety of speakers throughout the year, followed by 20-30 minute open discussion. Please feel free to bring your lunch! Anyone with an interest in sustainability can give talks at the speaker series and participate in the audience, including faculty, staff, students, practitioners, teachers, government officials, and members of the public. If you would like to give a presentation, or would like to hear a particular speaker, please contact Daniel DeCaro.
Feb. 15, 2019	Seed Starting Workshop Friday, Feb. 15th, Noon Garden Commons at the Cultural Center Get a jump-start on your food garden this year! Join us in the greenhouse at UofL’s organic garden to learn about starting seeds to save money, get better results, & make the most of the growing season. Learn how and why to start seeds early with this hands-on workshop. Bring your own seeds to start and containers to take them home in, or help us start some seeds to be planted in the Garden Commons. This workshop will be led by Bethany Pratt, Cooperative Extension’s Horticulture Education Agent for Jefferson County.
Feb. 22, 2019	EcoReps Lunch & Learn: Global Peace & Prosperity with Clean Energy Friday, Feb. 22nd at Noon, Ekstrom Library room W210 Join us for our monthly EcoReps Lunch & Learn workshop featuring a free vegetarian lunch and locals making a difference in sustainability! Our speaker on February 22nd will be Michael Kessler, a Louisville native who has been working on sustainable energy solutions for global peace & prosperity since 1977. He has traveled to Russia, Australia, New Zealand, five European countries, and throughout the U.S. He has published two books, three CD's and 50-minute documentary. “Our Global Nation” is based on the works of Albert Einstein and Buckminster Fuller and explores the power of this new information to create an advanced, global civilization of peace and prosperity. Fuller’s World Energy Network could be a win-win project for the planet to establish the foundation of this civilization. This energy internet could provide an unending supply of clean power to end hunger, poverty, pollution and war. History is calling for us to create a constitutional, environmentally compatible, advanced, planetary civilization. The Sustainability Council’s EcoReps program is designed to move students, faculty & staff beyond talk to action for a more sustainable UofL! We provide basic training & resources, service opportunities, and leadership positions as a point-person & peer-to-peer advocate for sustainability. This spring, we continue our series of in-person workshops each month on last Fridays at noon in Ekstrom Library room W210. Join us for lunch and bring your reusable plate, utensils, and cup to minimize waste! All are welcome. More info on EcoReps website.
Mar. 1, 2019	Sustainability Roundtable Friday, March 1st, 11am-noon, Urban Studies Room 200 (426 W Bloom St) Please join us for UofL's Sustainability Roundtable series on alternating Fridays at 11am! The format is a 30-40 minute presentation from a variety of speakers throughout the year, followed by 20-30 minute open discussion. Please feel free to bring your lunch! Anyone with an interest in sustainability can give talks at the speaker series and participate in the audience, including faculty, staff, students, practitioners, teachers, government officials, and members of the public. If you would like to give a presentation, or would like to hear a particular speaker, please contact Daniel DeCaro.
March 22, 2019	Garden Commons Workshop: Composting Friday, March 22nd, Noon, Garden Commons at the Cultural Center Join us in UofL's organic Garden Commons for a special workshop on composting and vermiculture with Dr. Brian Barnes! Brian directs UofL's Community Composting Project (just a couple blocks north of the Garden Commons) with volunteer-power every Sunday noon-2pm. He'll be sharing the basics of why, how, and what to compost and we will be creating DIY composting bins that you can take home with you to start your own compost!
March 29, 2019	Sustainability Roundtable Friday, March 29th, 11am-noon, Urban Studies Room 200 (426 W Bloom St) Please join us for UofL's Sustainability Roundtable series on alternating Fridays at 11am! The format is a 30-40 minute presentation from a variety of speakers throughout the year, followed by 20-30 minute open discussion. Please feel free to bring your lunch! Anyone with an interest in sustainability can give talks at the speaker series and participate in the audience, including faculty, staff, students, practitioners, teachers, government officials, and members of the public. If you would like to give a presentation, or would like to hear a particular speaker, please contact Daniel DeCaro.
March 29, 2019	EcoReps Lunch & Learn Friday, March 29nd at Noon, Ekstrom Library room W210 Join us for our monthly EcoReps Lunch & Learn workshop featuring a free vegetarian lunch and locals making a difference in sustainability! The Sustainability Council’s EcoReps program is designed to move students, faculty & staff beyond talk to action for a more sustainable UofL! We provide basic training & resources, service opportunities, and leadership positions as a point-person & peer-to-peer advocate for sustainability. This spring, we continue our series of in-person workshops each month on last Fridays at noon in Ekstrom Library room W210. Join us for lunch and bring your reusable plate, utensils, and cup to minimize waste! All are welcome. More info on EcoReps website.
March 27, 2019	Boehl Distinguished Lecture in Land Use Policy: James Salzman Wednesday, March 27th, 6pm, Law School Room 275 The Spring 2019 Lecture will be given by James Salzman, who is the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the UCLA School of Law, University of California, Los Angeles.
Apr. 5, 2019	UofL Arbor Day Celebration *Friday, April 5th, 9am at HSC; 11am-2pm, Belknap Campus (specific locations TBA)* April 5th is Arbor Day 2019 in Kentucky! Come help us restore Louisville's shrinking tree canopy. Join us for a celebration of UofL’s on-going commitment to trees and our status as a Tree Campus USA (for 9 years running!). At 9am at HSC and noon at Belknap, you can help us plant a tree on campus! Take home a *free native tree sapling* to plant in your yard or neighborhood! We'll be giving away 100 native shade trees, and 20 flowering cherry trees. Tree-themed activities with prizes and free apples for everyone! Bike-blender smoothies made entirely with tree fruits and nuts, including native pawpaws from a Louisville community garden, and peaches and native serviceberries harvested right here on campus! Co-sponsored by UofL's Sustainability Council, Campus Housing, UofL Dining, and UofL Office of Health Promotion.
April 12, 2019	Sustainability Roundtable Friday, April 12th, 11am-noon, Urban Studies Room 200 (426 W Bloom St) Please join us for UofL's Sustainability Roundtable series on alternating Fridays at 11am! The format is a 30-40 minute presentation from a variety of speakers throughout the year, followed by 20-30 minute open discussion. Please feel free to bring your lunch! Anyone with an interest in sustainability can give talks at the speaker series and participate in the audience, including faculty, staff, students, practitioners, teachers, government officials, and members of the public. If you would like to give a presentation, or would like to hear a particular speaker, please contact Daniel DeCaro.
Apr. 12, 2019	Climate Anxiety and Meditation Workshop Friday, April 12th, Noon Garden Commons at the Cultural Center Join us in UofL's organic Garden Commonsfor a wellness workshop on climate anxiety. Do you feel extreme anxiety in the face of news about climate change and environmental disasters? Come learn tools for resiliency and be guided through a meditation created specifically for this purpose. Co-sponsored by the UofL Sustainability Council, Office of Health Promotion, and Get Healthy Now!
Apr. 19, 2019	EcoReps Lunch & Learn: UofL Maple Tapping & Pancake Party! Friday, April 19th at Noon, Ekstrom Library room W210 Join us for our monthly EcoReps Lunch & Learn workshop featuring a free vegetarian lunch and locals making a difference in sustainability! We'll rap up the year on April 19th, with our annual celebration of making maple syrup by tapping UofL trees! Come enjoy some pancakes with our very own, hyper-local maple syrup while we talk trees. The Sustainability Council’s EcoReps program is designed to move students, faculty & staff beyond talk to action for a more sustainable UofL! We provide basic training & resources, service opportunities, and leadership positions as a point-person & peer-to-peer advocate for sustainability. This spring, we continue our series of in-person workshops each month on last Fridays at noon in Ekstrom Library room W210. Join us for lunch and bring your reusable plate, utensils, and cup to minimize waste! All are welcome. More info on EcoReps website.
April 22, 2019	Late Night Shred Fest! Monday, April 22nd, 8pm, SAC Ballroom Campus Housing will be honoring Earth Day with a fun incentive to recycle after all your spring classes are over! Satisfy your late-night cravings and power up for finals with a free breakfast bar. Bring old papers from the semester to shred and recycle them properly and you'll be entered into a raffle for fabulous prizes! You can earn a second raffle ticket just by coming in your pajamas.
May 16 - Oct. 31, 2019	Gray Street Farmers’ Market Thursdays, 10:30am‒1:30pm (May 16 to Oct. 31, 2019) Health Sciences Center, 400 E. Gray St. With 11 unique local vendors, you'll find the finest in farm-fresh local products, including fruits, vegetables, pasture-raised meat & eggs, popcorn, honey & syrup, jams, granola, bread & baked goods, flowers, plants, prepared lunches, food trucks, and more. Cash, debit cards, SNAP benefits, and Senior Vouchers accepted! Open weekly rain or shine. Watch Vendor Spotlights and our 20/20 Talks on food and sustainability at the GSFM YouTube Channel! Access our collection of delicious recipes for local products. Join our listserv and receive our weekly newsletter by sending an email to listserv@listserv.louisville.edu with the message “SUBSCRIBE GSFM (First_Name Last_Name)”. More info: GSFM website, contact Market Manager, Sara Frazier at farmersmarket@louisville.edu or 502-852-6655, or follow on .