Events — UofL Sustainability

Events

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

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

Date	Event
Jan. 16, 2025	Green Game: UofL Women's Basketball vs. Syracuse Thursday, Jan. 16th, 7pm, Yum! Center - Get tickets here. (Add to Calendar) Join us for a special night of greener sports, brought to you by Canon, as the Cards host ACC rivals Syracuse University. Fans will learn about UofL's extensive sustainability initiatives and have a chance to donate used sports equipment to kids in need. Bring your used sporting goods equipment to the game to donate as part of Canon’s "Green Game" sustainability initiative. Faculty and staff can also bring donated equipment to the Canon Print & Mail shop at the Student Activities Center, Jan. 9-16. All donations will go to Hudson Middle School (named after former College of Arts & Sciences Dean J. Blaine Hudson) in Louisville. Look for the UofL Sustainability table and donation bins in the lobby. UofL is a proud member of the ACC Sports Sustainability Team!
Every Sunday	UofL Community Composting Volunteer Days 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.
Jan. 20, 2025	MLK Day of Service Monday, Jan. 20th, 10am-1:30pm, SAC MPR, Add to your Calendar ELSB's MLK Day of Service is one of UofL's largest campus-wide service events of the year. The purpose of the event is to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and serve the community that UofL calls home. We hope to allow students to connect with each other, the UofL community, and the larger Louisville community. We hope you will come out and join us to better the community we call home. Sign-in at the SAC MPR, pick a service site, and you'll be off to volunteer. It's that easy! Volunteers are encouraged to wear clothing appropriate for service and winter, so closed toed-shoes, long sleeves, and something that you're not afraid to potentially get dirty. UofL's Sustainability Council will be hosting multiple service sites, including the UofL Free Store, Urban & Public Affairs Garden, and Community Composting Project. RSVP on Engage.
Jan. 20, 2025	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration Monday, Jan. 20th, 4pm-8pm, 4309 W. Broadway, Louisville, KY 40211 Celebrate the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream for justice and universal freedom. Join the College of Arts and Sciences and the Yearlings Club as we enjoy an evening of community fellowship featuring inspiring discussions, food and music as we honor Dr. King’s vision and commitment to equality. Let’s come together to reflect, connect and celebrate his lasting impact. Join us for an evening honoring his vision of justice, equality, and community with food, music, and fellowship. Register here.
Jan. 16 - April 24, 2025	Spring Garden Gatherings Mondays, 1pm at the Garden Commons (northeast of the Baptist Center) Thursdays, 5pm at the Urban & Public Affairs Garden & Greenhouse (426 W. Bloom St., behind Bettie Johnson Hall) 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 spring semester to harvest, weed, water & plant. Monthly hands-on Garden Workshops will also be offered at these times. Tools and gloves provided. Everyone who comes is welcome to share in the harvest! Connect with us and get all the details on Facebook or Instagram. Facebook Event.
Jan. 27, 2025	Write Your Representatives Monday, Jan. 27th, 11am-1pm, Ekstrom Library - University Writing Center The Engage. Lead. Serve. Board invites you to join us at the Ekstrom Writing Center! Now is a great time to reach out to your representatives and share your stance on issues important to you! Writing center staff will be there to help you with any revisions you'd like to make and we'll be there to help you find out who your reps are and how to reach out to them! RSVP on Engage.
Jan. 27, 2025	Maple Tapping Workshop! Monday, Jan. 27th, 1pm, Meetup at the Garden Commons, Add to your Calendar Join us in UofL's sustainable Garden Commons next to the Baptist Center to learn about the process of tapping maple trees and making maple syrup! Our workshop leader, Dave Barker, has been tapping trees and making his own syrup in Louisville for years. He will give a brief, hands-on workshop on the process and then attendees will get to work with him as we install taps on our own maple trees around campus. Participants will have the opportunity to sign-up to volunteer to empty buckets as they fill throughout the coming weeks. Please dress warmly so we can work outside. This is part of the spring series of Garden Workshops hosted by the Garden Commons, 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! Facebook Event.
Jan. 31, 2025	EcoReps Lunch & Learn Workshop: Topic TBA Friday, Jan. 31st, Noon-1pm, BAB 206 OR Join Microsoft Teams Meeting, or join by phone at 502-792-9582 (Conference ID: 424 899 605 #) Join us for our monthly EcoReps workshop featuring locals making a difference in sustainability and a free vegetarian lunch! 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 website.
Feb. 1, 2025	Louisville Beekeeping and Research Conference Saturday, Feb. 1st, 8am-8pm, Founders Union, Shelby Campus (450 N Whittington Pkwy) This year's theme is Hive Tech: Utilizing Technology to Enhance Beekeeping Outcomes. As technology advances in all aspects of our lives, the tools we use in managing bees has also been progressing. From what we now consider classic beekeeeping technologies, like the Langstroth hive, to new innovations, including vaporizers, grafting, and hive maintenance apps, beekeepers alike rely on technology to ensure the survival of their apiaries. Your conference host, Apis Rescue, aims to equip beekeepers with the necessary tools for successful beekeeping bringing these technologies to you in our 2025 Louisville Beekeeping and Research Conference. While the conference is geared towards intermediate and advanced beekeepers, as well as honeybee researchers, even beginner beekeepers can benefit from the extensive talks by top names in the industry. Attending the conference gives you the opportunity to witness some of the best beekeeping content in the United States, presented in Intermediate, Advanced, and Research tracks. The Research track focuses on the latest discoveries and how they can be applied in beekeeping. Learn more and register here.
Feb. 20, 2025	Gender, Equity & Climate Justice Conference 2025 Thursday, Feb. 20th, 10am-2:30pm, Microsoft Teams, Add to your Calendar Join us for UofL's second annual Gender, Equity, & Climate Justice Conference, taking place virtually on Microsoft Teams. Speakers and topics TBA, but may include: gender equity leadership in Louisville, climate justice, menstrual equity, human trafficking in the Latinx community, disability justice, and reproductive justice. The conference is organized by UofL's Women's Center, in partnership with Louisville Metro Office for Women, UofL Sustainability, Sister Song of Kentucky and United Nations Association – Women at UofL. Details and registration TBA. Contact: Jamieca Jones.
Feb. 28, 2025	EcoReps Lunch & Learn Workshop: Topic TBA Friday, Feb. 28th, Noon-1pm, BAB 206 OR Join Microsoft Teams Meeting, or join by phone at 502-792-9582 (Conference ID: 424 899 605 #) Join us for our monthly EcoReps workshop featuring locals making a difference in sustainability and a free vegetarian lunch! 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 website.
March 22, 2025	Beyond Waste Summit 2025 Saturday, March 22nd, 10am-5pm, SAC TBA, *Add to your Calendar* The University of Louisville is thrilled to be hosting our region's Beyond Waste Summit, organized by the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN). Join this hands-on & collaborative leadership intensive to explore sustainability topics with other students in Louisville! Register here. Inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying games, Beyond Waste Summits have attendees portray students at the fictional “Emergence University” and work together to build conceptual campus sustainability projects. Students collaborate on activities like mapping key stakeholders, creating a social media strategy, and planning the logistics for an event. These encourage in-depth program planning, troubleshooting, and leadership development skills. At the end of the day, students present their work to a “Board of Trustees” and gain experience with both giving & receiving feedback. Emergence University students are super engaged in sustainability projects on campus. However, administration can sometimes act as a barrier to the type of systems change that students are calling for. In this simulation, students will rally interest from among the campus community and host an event to bring the Emergence University staff and President into making sustainable change. The project simulations highlighted in this event will be: Zeroing in on Waste to Energy Navigating Campus Bureaucracy Special Topic: Depending on number of registrants, we may add additional campaigns. Stay tuned! This event is co-hosted in-person by University of Louisville and the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN). For any questions, please email rachael@postlandfill.org. About the Post-Landfill Action Network: PLAN is a small but mighty nonprofit that supports student-led zero waste initiatives on college campuses. We provide an extensive library of digital resources, coordinate Fellowship programs, offer 1-on-1 advising on the creation of campus programs, inspire & connect through annual events, and more. This will be the 9th Beyond Waste Summit we have hosted since 2020! Learn more about PLAN. Registration Required - Register here.
March 28, 2025	EcoReps Lunch & Learn Workshop: Topic TBA Friday, March 28th, Noon-1pm, BAB 206 OR Join Microsoft Teams Meeting, or join by phone at 502-792-9582 (Conference ID: 424 899 605 #) Join us for our monthly EcoReps workshop featuring locals making a difference in sustainability and a free vegetarian lunch! 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 website.
April 18, 2025	EcoReps Lunch & Learn Workshop: UofL Maple Syrup & Honey Pancake Party! Friday, April 18th, Noon-1pm, BAB 206 (Add to your Calendar) OR Join Microsoft Teams Meeting, or join by phone at 502-792-9582 (Conference ID: 424 899 605 #) Join us for our monthly EcoReps workshop featuring locals making a difference in sustainability and a free vegetarian lunch! We'll wrap up the year with our annual celebration of our sweet sustainability harvests on campus, as we sample some of this year's maple syrup and honey harvests! Come enjoy some pancakes with our very own local sweetness. All are welcome. You'll also learn about tapping UofL maple trees to make syrup and raising honeybees on campus! 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 website. Facebook Event.