Rain Garden Workshop and Installation

Posted on May 14, 2013 by KHolmes

The Jefferson County Extension Service is offering a one day rain garden workshop from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm on Thursday, May 30 covering the following topics:

Rain gardens and their role in stormwater management
Landscape/lawn assessment: locating the site for a rain garden
Rain garden construction: size, design, and installation
Plant selection, care, and rain garden maintenance

The event will take place at the Extension Service office at 810 Barret Avenue in the morning and in the afternoon participants will install a rain garden at Breslin Park, 1388 Lexington Road. The event costs $15 and includes lunch. Please RSVP by Friday, May 17th by calling Sarah Stolz at 502.569.2344 ext 120 or emailing sarah.stolz@uky.edu. View a flyer for the event.

Bike Valet Parking at Thunder

Posted on April 18, 2013 by KHolmes

The Kentucky Derby Festival and Bike Louisville have teamed to up provide free Bike Valet Parking during this year’s Thunder Over Louisville event. The bicycle parking facility will open at noon the day of Thunder Over Louisville, Saturday, April 20, and close at 11 P.M.

Just ride to Witherspoon Street and look for the bicycle parking area directly behind Slugger Field (see map).

Need to find a safe biking route? Just use this cool online bike routing tool!

How does it work? Ride to Thunder and just check in your bike, get a wristband at the booth and return with your wristband to retrieve your bicycle. Volunteers will record your name, bicycle type (brand name) and color of your bicycle. It’s a free service, sponsored by Louisville Metro to make Louisville more bike friendly!

April 13th Events

Posted on April 11, 2013 by KHolmes

In addition to the 9th District Community Cleanup from 8:30-Noon (meet at the Kroger on lower Brownsboro Road), there are several sustainability events on Saturday, April 13^th.

The Mighty Kindness Earth Day Hoot brings together local services for the body, soul, heart and mind that make our commonwealth more rooted and kind. It is a free community unity festival that celebrates kindness where you’ll find local food, music, art, green businesses, neighborhood and social justice organizations, fun for kids, the healing arts, the spiritual community, free workshops, Massage-a-thon, Circle of Dance, Turners Circus, and more! The Hoot will take place at the Brown-Forman Amphitheater at Waterfront Park from Noon-6pm on April 13^th. Learn more here.

At the Mighty Kindness Hoot the Frankfort Avenue Tree Canopy Project will be raising money for the 2013 fall planting by offering a Massage-a-Thon event with the Louisville School of Massage. All donations are tax-deductible. If you have questions please email findmarissa@yahoo.com.

Also on April 13, YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip Screening and Party: A fundraiser for the Green Institute with food trucks, music, beer, and Q&A with the film’s director at the BBC Brewery/Tap Room at 636 E. Main Street. $10 Suggested Donation. Starts at 6:00 pm with the movie screening at 7:30 pm. Presented by Bluegrass Brewing Company, Center for Neighborhoods, Louisville Timebank, and Germantown-Paristown Neighborhood Association.

Finally, on April 13: St. Leonard Environmental Club Recycling Event in the Saint Leonard Community parking lot, 440 Zorn Avenue, from 8:00 a.m. to Noon. This year’s sponsors include Commonwealth Computer Recycling (CCR) – items taken include obsolete electronic equipment (computers, scanners, copiers, fax machines, game systems, cell phones, spent ink cartridges) and DDC of Kentucky to shred all your important documentation (papers, folders, ID’s, credit cards, etc.) Once again, there is NO COST for disposal – all they ask for is that each person dropping items donate something listed on the Kentucky Humane Society Wish List. All items collected will be responsibly recycled and not end up in landfills! Questions please contact Kim James at 897-5265 or email kjames@stleonardlouisville.org.

Sustainability Committee April 11

Posted on April 10, 2013 by KHolmes

On Thursday, April 11^th at 3:00 pm the Louisville Metro Sustainability Committee meeting will feature a presentation from Barry Zalph about the use of modern rotary intersections to improve sustainability. This presentation will introduce modern roundabouts and neighborhood traffic calming circles as tools in the roadway design tool kit. If used properly, they can replace signalized intersections and stop-sign-controlled intersections with benefits including increased safety, reduced traffic congestion, and reduced emissions. The meeting will take place at City Hall, 601 W. Jefferson Street, and is open to the public. The meeting will also be aired live on MetroTV, Insight Channel 25. Committee meetings are also aired in reruns on MetroTV, and the schedule can be found here. You can also watch the meeting online here.

Get Ready for Spring Biking

Posted on April 2, 2013 by KHolmes

May is National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day in Louisville will take place on May 17. The Louisville Bicycle Club is offering free “New Rider/Bike Handling Classes” to get you ready for Bike to Work Day and more biking. They are offering 3 sessions of the course, each of which includes 6 classes. The first session starts on May 6. Learn more and register. If you need to brush up on bicycle safety tips, there are great resources on the Bike Louisville page. Use Ride the City to map your next bike route, where you can choose the “safer” or “direct” route.

Final Louisville Sustainability Plan Released

Posted on April 1, 2013 by KHolmes

After accepting public comment for more than a month, Mayor Greg Fischer released the final Sustain Louisville plan that sets a course for making the city more environmentally friendly. This plan includes more aggressive timelines to accomplish goals – a direct result of public feedback – and the addition of new three new initiatives. Among other changes, the city moved up its goals of:

Decreasing energy use in city-owned buildings by 30 percent from 2025 to 2018;
Establishing a robust urban tree canopy from 2020 to 2018;
Decreasing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2025 to 2020.

The three new initiatives are:

Coordinating suburban traffic lights to reduce air pollution from idling vehicles;
Installing 10 new Mayor’s Miles to encourage walking and active living;
Launching a clean economy business plan contest to encourage entrepreneurs in the creation and startup of businesses.

Sustain Louisville contains six sections — energy, environment, transportation, economy, community and engagement — with 19 broad goals and 63 initiatives. The report is available for download at www.louisvilleky.gov/sustainability.

Free Native Trees for Arbor Day

Posted on March 29, 2013 by KHolmes

The Joint Highlands Arbor Day Committee will be handing out free native trees in partnership with global Plant for the Planet! to celebrate Kentucky Arbor Day from 9:30am to 3:30pm (rain or shine) on Saturday, April 6, at the Douglass Community Center at 2305 Douglass Boulevard. Visitors must sign the United Nations Environmental Program’s PLEDGE to plant the seedlings. The Central District Chief Forester and the Jefferson County Master Gardeners will have information on the general dos and don’ts of tree planting, as well as on our specific trees. Light refreshments are provided. This year they have 1,400 native trees to give away and they include 300 dogwood, 200 redbud, and 100 each pawpaw, northern red oak, bur oak, willow oak, yellow poplar, tupelo/blackgum, Washington hawthorn, roughleaf dogwood, and river birch – depending on availability. These bare-root seedlings are roughly 6″ to 24″. All species for 2013 are native to Jefferson County. For more information visit www.highlandsarborday.info.

Sustainability Committee March 28

Posted on March 28, 2013 by KHolmes

On Thursday, March 28^th at 3:00pm the Louisville Metro Sustainability Committee meeting will feature a presentation by Katy Schneider of the Metro Tree Advisory Commission for an update on suggested Land Development Code amendments. The meeting will take place at City Hall, 601 W. Jefferson Street, and is open to the public. The meeting will also be aired live on MetroTV, Insight Channel 25. Committee meetings are also aired in reruns on MetroTV, and the schedule can be found here. You can also watch the meeting online here.

TARC Proposed Schedule and Routing Changes

Posted on March 12, 2013 by KHolmes

Bike and Bus As part of periodic schedule adjustments, TARC will be taking proposed schedule and routing changes to the public to start a series of public meetings and a public comment period. Any changes would take effect in June and would be reviewed by the TARC Board at the March 25 meeting. The proposed changes involve restructuring of a few routes in a way that also will result in improved efficiency and needed savings. There are no route eliminations proposed. The proposals include better service between the airport and downtown on Route 2-Second Street which would no longer travel south of the airport. Service to UPS Worldport would be on Route 18-Dixie-Preston Highway instead of Route #2. Due to low ridership, Route #4-Fourth Street would no longer make a loop to the Downtown Medical Center. Other TARC options are available for accessing the Medical Center. In addition, Routes 25-Oak Street and Route 55-Westport Road would merge to provide direct service linking western Louisville with employment areas in eastern Louisville Metro. While Route #55 would no longer serve downtown, there would be frequent connections from the merged route to other TARC routes serving downtown. For more information and to sign up for TARC’s e-news service, visit www.ridetarc.org.

These proposals are designed to improve efficiency and save costs with the least amount of negative impact as possible to passengers. Opportunities for public comment meetings are below:

Tuesday, March 19, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Nia Center, 2900 W. Broadway
Tuesday, March 19, 5-7 p.m.: McDowell Center, 8412 Westport Road
Wednesday, March 20, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.: St. Elizabeth Church, 1016 E. Burnett Ave.
Wednesday, March 20, 5-7 p.m. –Free Public Library, Southwest Branch, 10375 Dixie Highway
Thursday, March 21 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Free Public Library, Main Branch, 301 York St.

Other ways to obtain information and comment:

Email: info@ridetarc.org
Phone: 502/561-5112
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ridetarc
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ridetarc
Mail: TARC, Union Station, 1000 W. Broadway, Louisville, KY 40203

Grow More Mow Less

Posted on March 11, 2013 by KHolmes

The first day of spring is March 20. The Air Pollution Control District’s Grow More Mow Less program can help you get your yard ready for spring by thinking about how to get rid of turf grass that you don’t need. With less turf grass, you will be able to mow less, save time, money, and protect the air. Find ideas here for low-mow plants, savings on low-mow plants, and steps to convert your yard from turf grass to low-mow.

Did you know that one hour of mowing with a typical gas-powered lawnmower produces the same amount of smog-forming emissions as driving your car for 200 miles? See the difference in pollution from gas-powered versus cleaner mowers. Learn more from the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District’s (APCD) Lawn Care for Cleaner Air program, which gives incentives for residents who purchase air-friendly lawn care equipment. Residents receive larger incentives for trading in gas-powered equipment. There is a new program for professional lawn care equipment incentives as well. Landowners who are cleaning our air through less-polluting mowing techniques or through low maintenance landscaping can be nominated for an Environmental Stewardship Award from APCD. Learn more, or nominate someone for an award.