Earth Day Banners in this guide by Melissa Rothman (2023)
Welcome
April marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, and the season's renewed growth and energy serve as a reminder of the importance of protecting our planet and its natural resources. To promote environmental awareness and action, several significant environmental observances are celebrated in April, including Earth Day, Arbor Day, and National Parks Week. Celebrate with Ekstrom by exploring a book about sustainability and taking steps toward positive change. Let us all do our part to protect the planet and make a difference.
- World Aquatic Animal Day - April 3
- National Park Week - April 19th-27th
- Dark Sky Week - April 20th-26th
- Earth Day - April 22
- National Arbor Day - April's last Friday
The Story of Stuff
Take Action
Get Involved
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.
Commute Clean
Save money, reduce pollution, ease traffic congestion, build community, and reduce parking problems for everyone! Discover all of your options with our free Cardinal Directions trip-planning and carpool-matching service.
UofL also hosts a number of programs that promote biking in our community. Bikeshare allows UofL students and employees to borrow bikes on campus for short or long-term periods from a variety of locations. They also offer free bike lock rentals for students.
Reduce Waste
Recycle all kinds of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass in the blue trash bins on UofL campus. Compost your food scraps and organic wastes in one of the Garden Commons composting bins or at the UofL Community Composting site.
Donate items like clothing, shoes, electronics, small appliances, household items, bath & beauty supplies, books, school & art supplies, and more to the UofL Freestore.
Eat Green
Eat locally grown produce, dairy, and meats; and locally made foods by supporting farmers' markets and fair-trade local businesses. Check out UofL's Food page for sustainable options in our community.
Mobile Apps
eBird
Record the birds you see in the field and link these observations to a global online database used by birders around the world.
Globe Observer
Make environmental observations that complement NASA satellite data to help scientists studying Earth and the global environment.
iNaturalist
Create research-quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature by using this app to identify plants and animals around you.
Natures Notebook
Record plant and animal life cycle events, like flowering and bird migration.
Zooniverse
The world’s largest platform for people-powered research covering many disciplines and topics across the sciences and humanities.
Smell My City
Allows residents to track where odors are frequently concentrated and link those smell events to poor air quality.
Budburst
Contribute to a national community science project by observing plants, uploading your data, and sharing your findings.
UofL Resources
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.
Free Stuff!
Green Living
UofL Events
For a full listing of 2023 Eco-Events at UofL, visit https://louisville.edu/sustainability/events
Every Sunday, Noon - 2:00 PM — 240 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. All participants are welcome to haul home some rich UofL compost for gardening projects in your own containers/vehicle.
Monday, Apr 10, 2023 — 4:00 - 5:30 PM — Red Barn
ELSB invites you to stop by to hear from local business Beeing2gether about their work and the environmental impact of bees! Local honey, honey-based products, and free food will be provided! RSVP on Engage.
Thursday, Apr 13, 2023 — 05:00 PM - 06:00 PM — Garden Commons (new location at NE corner of Baptist Center)
Our Beekeeping Intern, Shelby Robinson, will lead a hands-on workshop where students can learn about honeybees and UofL's own apiary!
Saturday, Apr 15, 2023 — 08:30 AM - 12:00 PM — Central Park
Consider volunteering a few hours of your time to do light chores like weeding, trimming, and painting to tidy up this historic Olmsted Park near campus. A free lunch will be provided for all volunteers at noon.
Tuesday, Apr 18, 2023 — 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM — Microsoft Teams
We conclude our spring series on April 18th with Angela Campbell, a UofL Masters in Sustainability student and Graduate Research Assistant in Environmental Health, sharing her research associated with UofL's Green Heart Project to assess the health impacts of trees.
Friday, Apr 21, 2023 — 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM — BAB 406
Come enjoy some pancakes with our very own, hyper-local maple syrup while we talk trees and local sweetness with our community partner, Dave Barker.
Mon-Thur through Apr 24, 2023 — 12:00 PM - 06:00 PM — SAC W303C
The space is like a thrift store where no money is exchanged and is run by students 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.
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 — 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM — CTR Building — Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Join us outside of CTR for a S.M.A.R.T. service project to update the planter beds with new, beautiful perennial flowers alongside the UofL Grounds team! Following our planting workday, the Department of Pediatrics will be planting a memorial tree in the same area at 12:30pm to honor a former staff member, Sarah McKinney, who has since passed. RSVP here for the tree planting.