Earlier in February, community partner and UofL neighbor, Dave Barker led participants through a maple tapping workshop, installing taps on several trees in the center of campus. Barker instructed participants on the best practices for tree tapping without causing harm to the trees. He explained that sap flows are much more accessible to tap after temperatures swing from below freezing at night to above freezing during the day, creating an internal pressure that carries sap through the tree. After these conditions are met, sap may be seen leaking through natural scars. The only equipment then needed to harvest sap is a drill to make a one-inch hole, a tap to hammer in, tubing and a covered bucket. Once the sap is harvested, it’s then boiled down to remove the water and create syrup.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives says tree tapping is a sustainable way to create local maple syrup and sugary products while cutting personal emissions. Combining maple tapping with other gardening and farming practices can make an important impact in reducing individual environmental impacts.

“I think the most important thing we get out of this project is a better understanding of sustainability, which is all about tapping into the local resources right under our noses that we tend to ignore,” Mog said. “As we learned at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, what makes modern life so precarious and unsustainable is an over-reliance on extractive economies that pull in resources from all over the place. Rather than spending a bunch of money and burning a bunch of fossil fuels to ship in syrup from Vermont, I’d much rather see us make our own and reconnect with the abundance that nature provides for us right here in Louisville.”

To make a gallon of maple syrup about 30–60 gallons of sap is needed. Assuming weather conditions support the flow of sap, UofL Sustainability hopes to produce a few gallons of syrup from Belknap campus trees. While the workshop focused on tapping maple trees, several other tree species can be tapped for sap to make syrup. Birch, hickory, sycamore and other types of trees can be used to create unique syrups with different flavor profiles from maple syrup.

The annual maple tapping workshop is part of . The Garden Commons is a collectively managed space open to all students, staff, faculty and community members. Participants who assist in the garden’s projects are welcome to share in the harvest and take their share of organic produce.

The Garden Commons hosts several workshops and events to get volunteers engaged in recognizing the accessible abundance of gardening and foraging. Upcoming events include workshops on orchard care, berry foraging and community gardening in abandoned urban spaces. Garden Commons intern and UofL student Savannah Dowell organized this year’s maple tapping workshop.

“I want everyone who participates in the Garden Commons to walk away with the understanding and confidence that they, too, can grow, forage or learn anything their heart desires. The world of sustainable urban agriculture can be overwhelming, but don’t become debilitated by the plethora of possibilities,” Dowell said. “Whether you start with a mass-scale maple tapping project or a windowsill herb garden – just start!”

Over the coming weeks, Cardinals can help empty sap buckets into collection barrels at the North Information Center and behind Gottschalk Hall by .  

Taste UofL’s maple syrup and honey at this year’s on Friday, April 19, from noon – 1 p.m. at the Cultural & Equity Center 176 (Belknap Village North).

View pictures on .

Artifacts range from a t-shirt that jokingly asks “Who the hall is Tilda Threkald?” to a flag from Louisville Municipal College, a separate UofL campus for African American students until integration, to a typewriter pulled from the wreckage of the Student Union Building when it burned in 1951.

The show’s photographs range from black and white images from the 1930s to photos from last year’s Crawfish Boil.

There is also a digital carousel with 250 images of UofL athletics.

“It is a broad look at 90 years of student life at UofL that includes three exhibit areas,” said Tom Owen, archivist.

The show was a group effort from staff and faculty within ASC and was largely inspired by Welcome Week.

“We asked, what do we want students to see? And, the answer was, themselves! We wanted them to see student life here,” said Jennifer Oberhausen, libraries assistant.

Viewers will notice commonalities and traditions that carry through the ages and also the unique spin each generation puts on their UofL experience.

New students are encourage to see the show and also check out the library during its annual .

“Your undergraduate years can be a time of exploration, of learning from people who are different from you – and finding and connecting with folks who share your interests,” said Carrie Daniels, director of ASC. “It’s a time of building your skills and practicing ways to change the world for the better. It’s a time of pushing yourself intellectually, spending time in – of all places – that temple of learning, the library.”

As UofL’s Associate Director for Operations and Facility Services, it’s his job to serve students. But it’s also his passion, and he’s found additional, unique ways to reach out to students and help them be their best selves.

In 2015, he founded the , “the first group of its kind to ‘pump and strut’ across the campus of UofL,” he said.

Since then, the organization has become a visible part of campus life, participating in such signature campus events as the and . The organization is now planning a modeling clinic open to the public.

“Cultivating a presence within the greater Louisville community is very important,” he said.

Medley, who is from Chatham, Virginia, tells his BMFT students “confidence and beauty lies within,” a motto he models daily. He’s always the most dapper dressed in a room and addresses others with a cultivated charm. Everyone is “Mr.” and “Ms.” in his vernacular.

He graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor of psychology and a MA in education with a cognate in multiculturalism.

Medley stopped in to UofL News recently to tell us more about BMFT and his thoughts on student involvement and community service.

UofL News: What exactly is BMFT?

Medley: The organization presents the art form of collegiate modeling with its origins at historically black colleges and universities. The integration of traditional runway modeling within the framework of African American culture embodying music, footwork technique and dance sets the stage for an electrifying experience. BMFT is identified via the colors emerald green and old gold, the lion/lioness mascot and motto “Elevate Yourself.”

This organization has become an important part of my identity at the university and within the city. I am fortunate to have 40-plus students on this campus know without a doubt that Medley will challenge and support them to be their best self.

UofL News: What motivated you to start this group?  

Medley: I have been fortunate to have the opportunity of connecting my passion for the performing arts and fashion to my professional work and community outreach. As a toddler, I watched my mother play the piano and sing in the church choir. When I entered the second grade she became the elementary cheerleading coach. These early years became the framework by which I evolved into the person before you today. As a lover of the performing arts, I am a classical and jazz vocalist, play trombone, piano and drums. I also volunteer within the world of pageantry as a coach and mentor with the Miss America Organization, Miss USA and Miss Black USA Organization. Continuing with my support of the arts, I have advised a university gospel choir and an all-male Athletic Division I cheer/spirit squad. 

Upon my arrival to UofL, I personally felt a void with my connection to students of color. After speaking with several students, I realized that there were not many performing arts organization/styles outside of stepping within the NPHC organizations. I began to dialogue with Ms. Julie Onnembo and Tierney Bates in Student Affairs about the tools/skills to create and sustain a student organization. With their support, I was able to create the foundation for an entity like no other at the institution.

UofL News: What does this kind of student involvement mean to you?

Medley: My long-term involvement in community outreach has been integrated into my work environment and experience at each institution within my career. I am a believer that students should be engaged and connected to their institution in a manner whereby they are not only receiving, but also giving. Student organizations have the ability to be a major connector for students within their campus. They have the ability to give so much to a student’s collegiate experience and become part of the institution’s brand and identity.  I ask my student leaders consistently: how are they relevant within the space they live and breathe? What is their purpose?

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