Events

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

All UofL Sustainability events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. What did I miss?! Check out our Past Events log.

Date Event
Aug. 18 - Nov. 24, 2025 Fall Garden Gatherings 2025
Garden GatheringMondays, 3pm at the Urban & Public Affairs Garden (426 W. Bloom St., behind Bettie Johnson Hall)
Thursdays, noon
at the Garden Commons (northeast of the Baptist Center)
UofL’s organic campus gardens are great places to relax, reconnect, learn, and savor the sweet taste of sustainability! Students, faculty, staff, and the public are all welcome to come experience the thrill of turning tiny seeds into an abundance of hyper-local veggies, herbs, fruit & flowers. Stop by anytime to sample the goodness and help us keep things watered and weeded. We will gather weekly at both of our campus food gardens throughout the fall (Aug. 18 - Nov. 24) to harvest, weed, water & plant. Tools and gloves provided, but bring bags to harvest into! Everyone who comes is welcome to share in the harvest! Connect with us and get all the details on Facebook or Instagram. Facebook Event.
Every Sunday UofL Community Composting Volunteer DaysCompost Volunteers
Every Sunday, Noon-2pm (Add to your Calendar)
250 E. Bloom St. (block north of Cardinal Blvd. between Brook & Floyd Streets, map)

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 are welcome to haul home some rich UofL compost for gardening projects in your own containers/vehicle. This is a weekly service opportunity throughout the year. Contact: Brian Barnes, 502-338-1338.
Nov. 13, 2025 UofL Arbor Day 2025Orchard Planting at Garden Commons 2025
Thursday, Nov. 13th, noon, Garden Commons (next to Baptist Center)
Come help us celebrate Arbor Day 2025 at the University of Louisville by taking another step to restore Louisville's shrinking tree canopy and address food insecurity! Help us expand and diversify our orchard! We'll be planting two new fruit trees at the Garden Commons to replace two young trees that we lost this year. Join us for a celebration of UofL’s on-going commitment to trees and our status (for 15 years running!) as a Tree Campus Higher Education. Volunteers will be invited to grab a shovel and help out after some guidance about proper tree planting and care. This will be excellent preparation for participating in Saturday's St. Joseph Neighborhood Tree Planting on Nov. 15th, 10:45am-2pm, Meetup: 760 Eastern Pkwy (Our Mother of Sorrows church)! Facebook Event.
Nov. 13, 2025 Abolition Feminism and Anti-Racist PraxisAbolition Feminism and Anti-Racist Praxis
Thursday, Nov. 13th, 6-7:30pm, Strickler Hall, Middleton Auditorium
Join us for the 19th Annual Anne Braden Memorial Lecture, entitled “Abolition Feminism and Anti-Racist Praxis” featuring Dr. Beth Richie of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Richie’s extensive research examines how race and gender impact experiences of criminalization and justice, and she has long collaborated closely with communities, impacted individuals, and movements, including as a founding member of INCITE!: Women of Color Against Violence. She is Distinguished Professor of Criminology, Law, and Justice and of Black Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, author of “Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America’s Prison Nation”; co-editor with teachers from Stateville Prison of “The Long Term: Resisting Life Sentences, Working Toward Freedom”; and co-author with Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, and Erica Meiners of “Abolition. Feminism. Now.” Learn more and register here.
Nov. 14, 2025 Sustainability Roundtable: Campus Commuter SurveyUofL Commuting Trends
Friday, Nov. 14th, noon-1:30pm, Urban & Public Affairs room 123 (426 W Bloom St)
Join UofL's Sustainability Roundtable for this vital conversation about research efforts into better understanding how the UofL community commutes to campus, why they make the choices they do, and what could be done to positively influence those choices. With the help of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment, the UofL Sustainability Council has been actively surveying the entire campus community about transportation choices since 2010. We'll share the methods and results of this survey work and discuss new directions for data analysis, data collection, and policy and program development based on these findings. Panelists will include: 
1. Dr. Justin Mog, Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives; 
2. Gary Becker, Director of Parking Administration; 
3. Dr. Henry Cunningham, Assistant Vice-President for Engaged Scholarship; 
4. Dr, Emily Spoden, Coordinator in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness; 
5. Dr. Yueshuai He, Assistant Professor, Transportation Researcher, J.B. Speed School of Engineering; 
6. Dr. Matt Ruther, Director, Kentucky State Data Center; and 
7. GSC Student Representative
Nov. 15, 2025 Pop-Up Drop-Off Community Recycling Event
Saturday, Nov. 15th, 10am-2pm, UofL Shelby Campus (440 N Whittington Pkwy), 

Pop-Up Drop-Offs are free recycling and large item disposal events for residents of Jefferson County.

Pop-Up Drop-OffAccepted Items:

  • Up to 3 electronic items (recycled)
  • Metal & appliances, no refrigerators or any items containing coolant (recycled) 
  • Up to 4 passenger tires (recycled)
  • Household recyclables, follow curbside rules (recycled)
  • Yard waste, follow curbside rules, wooden pallets (composted)
  • Documents for shredding (recycled)
  • Prescription medication (disposed properly)
  • Gently used shoes will be collected for WaterStep - every 3 pairs of shoes collected provides safe water for 1 person for life!

Items must already be separated into categories for easy off-loading so as much can be recycled as possible.

This event sponsored by: Department of Public Works and Assets and the Louisville/Jefferson County Waste Management District.More info.
Nov 15, 2025 St. Joseph Neighborhood Tree PlantingCommunity Tree Planting
Saturday, Nov. 15th, 10:45am-2pm, Meetup: 760 Eastern Pkwy (Our Mother of Sorrows church)
UofL's Sustainability Council invites the campus community to volunteer to help restore the urban tree canopy on the eastern edge of Belknap Campus during a Community-wide Planting Day with Louisville Metro Forestry, TreesLouisville & Louisville Grows. Play an active role in restoring the Louisville tree canopy by helping us plant over 100 trees in the St. Joseph Neighborhood! We are teaming up to plant trees in the rights-of-way, on residential properties, and at businesses in the area. Tools and training on how to plant a tree will be provided, along with gloves, safety glasses, safety vests, and a water refill station will also be provided. Please bring a water bottle and wear closed-toe shoes and weather appropriate clothing. Lunch is provided to all volunteers! Learn more and sign-up here.
Nov. 18, 2025 GIS Day 2025: “Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Mapping Health in Urban Landscapes”
Tuesday, November 18th, 10am-1pm, SAC Ballroom. Register here.
GIS Day 2025Join us in celebrating GIS Day 2025! This year’s theme, “Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Mapping Health in Urban Landscapes,” highlights how spatial data connects environmental health, urban planning, and community well-being. Hear from local experts using GIS to explore how trees and urban forests impact public health in Louisville. The event will feature presentations, a panel discussion, networking opportunities, and lunch sponsored by Seiler Geospatial.
Program:
    Welcome and Introductions
    Presentations from:
    Ray Yeager, PhD – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville School of Medicine
    Cindi Sullivan – President / Executive Director, TreesLouisville
    Megan Hale – GIS Supervisor, Louisville Parks and Recreation: Urban Forestry
    Panel Discussion: Moderated by Director of LOJIC, Trisha Brush, with audience Q&A
    Lunch and Networking Hour: Connect with local GIS professionals, students, and community members
Hosted by the University of Louisville Center for GIS, LOJIC, and the GeoTech Center. Please reach out to ULCGISHelpDesk@louisville.edu with any questions! Register here.
Nov. 20, 2025 Holiday Wreath Making WorkshopWreath-Making Workshop 2023
Thursday, Nov. 20th, noon, Garden Commons (next to Baptist Center)
Join us in UofL's organic, student-managed garden to get in the holiday spirit! Come learn how to make your own beautiful wreath using a variety of plant materials from campus and herbs from our garden. It's easier than you might think, and you'll take home something beautiful, great smelling, and unique! This is the last in our fall series of Garden Workshops. The Garden Commons is a shared, collectively-managed space, 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 Facebook or Instagram. Facebook Event.
Nov. 20, 2025 Population and Demographic Shifts in a Changing WorldHeadshot of Andrew Zimmer
Thursday, Nov. 20th, 2:30-3:45pm, BAB 218
Join us for the Fall 2025 Geographic and Environmental Sciences Seminar Series! Our speaker on November 20th will be Andrew Zimmer, a Geospatial Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Andrew is in the Human Geography group at Oak Ridge, where he contributes to the LandScan program, advancing high-resolution global population datasets. His research focuses on the intersections of human-environment geography, population dynamics, and urbanization. Before joining ORNL, he served as a Research Scientist at Montana State University, where he led assessments of urban demographic trends and population exposure to climate hazards. Andrew earned his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Arizona, with a dissertation examining the interplay between climate variability, urban population change, and food security in African cities. He also holds an M.S. and a B.A. in Geography from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. At this seminar, he'll be discussing "Population and Demographic Shifts in a Changing World."
Nov. 20, 2025
Talon Talk
Thursday, Nov. 20th, 4pm, Humanities 101
The Engage Lead Serve Board (ELSB) Animal Welfare committee invites you to come engage with birds of prey, such as owls and falcons. We are partnering with Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, who will be doing an hour-long presentation on different birds they have rescued. There will be ample time to ask questions and dive into conservation efforts in Kentucky! Note: Due to the nature of having live birds present, we ask that you please arrive by 3:55pm. RSVP on Engage.

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Nov. 21, 2025 EcoReps Lunch & Learn: Louisville Climate Action NetworkLCAN
Friday, Nov. 21st, noon, Center for Belonging, Access & Engagement (Belknap Village North room 176)
OR Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Join us for our monthly EcoReps workshop featuring locals making a difference in sustainability and a free vegetarian lunch! Our guest on November 21st will be Sarah Lynn Cunningham, Executive Director of the Louisville Climate Action Network. LCAN is the go-to source for reliable, action-inspiring information on climate change, its impacts and its many solutions. They work collaboratively for a healthy climate, operating efficiently, on sustainable energy -- equitably distributed and used, utilizing strategies and tactics that are inclusive, democratic, equitable and resilient. 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. More info on EcoReps websiteFacebook Event.
March 9-25, 2026 Great American Road Trip - Mount Rushmore and the Black Elk WildernessHiking Black Elk Peak in South Dakota
March 9th-15th, 2026, Keystone, South Dakota, $120 per person.
Join Campus Recreation for a multi-day road trip to Mount Rushmore National Monument and spend time hiking and camping in the Black Elk Wilderness. This trip involves primitive camping, hiking, and spectacular views of National Monuments. Registration required.
March 28, 2026 Mountain BikingCherokee/Seneca Park Mountain Bike Trail, Saint Matthews, Kentucky 
Saturday, March 28th, 9am-3pm, Cherokee Park
Join Campus Recreation and the UofL Sustainability Council on a morning bike ride to Cherokee Park and explore the mountain biking trails within the Park. Free and all equipment provided, but spots are limited. Registration required.
April 4, 2025 Three Bridges Trail Hike4 Days at Carter Caves State Park in Eastern Kentucky - Day 2 — To Make  Much of Time
Saturday, April 4th, 9am-5pm, Olive Hill, KY, $20 per person. 
Join Campus Recreation for this Appalachian hike! At just over three miles in length, Three Bridges Trail in Carter Caves State Resort Park is a fantastic trail with beautiful, interesting rock formations. The route stops by three of the park's natural rock bridges: Smoky Bridge (the largest), the Raven Bridge, and the Fern Bridge. Registration required.

What did I miss?! Check out our Past Events log.

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