Dr. Justin Mog kicked things off with a workshop focused on the challenges of guiding a large institution away from a business-as-usual mindset and toward a thoughtful balance of environmental, social and economic stewardship.

The HSC Green Team coordinated a pumpkin decorating event and bike repair station on the HSC Plaza, as well as two showings of the critically acclaimed documentary, “Paris to Pittsburgh–The Climate for Change is Now.”  Two other films were featured during the week: “Forks over Knives” and “Current Revolution.”

The decorated pumpkins were placed on display at the Gray Street Farmers Market.

Falls City Community Bike Works sponsored a bike repair and training station on the Plaza.  Falls City Community Bike Works is a non-profit community bike shop in Louisville with a goal of making bicycling more affordable and widespread.

Erin, 22, is a senior who will graduate in December. Her double major is in anthropology and sustainability, and she has worked as the university’s Zero Waste intern for the UofL Sustainability Council since fall 2017. Henny, 19, is a sophomore who majors in anthropology and sociology and has been the sustainability office’s communications intern since fall 2017.

They recently founded a chapter at the University of Louisville, making it the second chapter in the state. The national Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a student-led effort with 230 chapters nationwide aimed at combating hunger and food waste. Bellarmine University started Kentucky’s first FRN chapter in 2014 and has donated more than 10,000 pounds of food.

“We are so thrilled to have UofL join the national movement to transform food waste into social justice,” said Justin Mog, UofL’s assistant to the provost for sustainability. “It is exactly these kinds of efforts which we had always dreamed would grow out of our Sustainability Internship program and our new sustainability major. I’m so proud of all the hard work Erin and Henny have put into this and delighted to welcome Erin in December as the very first sustainability alum at UofL.”

Erin and Henny were joined recently by 20-year-old junior Melissa Sternberg, who transferred from Bellarmine University, where she was already involved in its FRN chapter. Melissa is also a sustainability major and is the sustainability assistant in the housing office.

The students are dedicated to environmentalism and social change. When Brian Barnes, a philosophy professor who runs the EcoReps program, brought a student from Bellarmine to UofL to talk about the FRN, Erin and Henny wanted to get involved. They soon became partners and friends.

“Recovering unsold food and delivering it to those who need it not only fulfills a need in the community, it keeps food waste out of landfills,” Erin said. “Sustainability is as much about social issues as it is about environmentalism.”

So far this year, the students have recovered more than 1,000 pounds of food and delivered it to St. Vincent de Paul or Wayside Christian Mission. For the most part, the food has consisted of bagels, pastries and salads from Einstein’s, but leftover fresh mushrooms and potatoes from summer orientation events were also donated by Aramark, UofL’s dining services contractor. The students will train anyone who wants to participate using FRN training materials.

“We get a text from Einstein’s letting us know they have food for us to take,” Henny said. “One of us goes to get it. We package it in paper lawn waste bags because they are not plastic and they are big. We weigh it and just drive it over. Sometimes we’re busy, but we do our best. We are always looking for more volunteers.”

Among other things, affiliating with the FRN will help the students formalize the process with rules that ensure food safety and track progress.

Erin and Henny have recently secured a space for a food pantry on Belknap Campus (tentatively to be located in the Student Activities Center) for students, staff and faculty. The pantry, expected to open later this semester, will be in addition to the Sustainability Council’s Free Store in Unitas Tower.

Their project is in line with research conducted by Sara Goldrick-Rab, UofL’s 2018 Grawemeyer Award winner in education. Goldrick-Rab’s 2016 book, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid and the Betrayal of the American Dream,” discusses the soaring costs of higher education that often results in food and housing insecurity for students.

Look for the students at this year’s Sustainability Fair Oct. 24 in the Humanities Quad for more information. The fair is part of UofL’s annual celebration of Sustainability Week, with more events .

For more information about sustainability at the University of Louisville, .

“I look forward to Sustainability Week every year because it’s such a great opportunity to celebrate and share all of the great, but little-known things that are happening to make UofL an even better steward of our environmental, social and economic resources,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.

Mog, who has been in his post since 2009, earlier this year was awarded the city’s , just one of several sustainability highlights from 2017 at UofL.

Others included being named a Tree Campus USA for the seventh year by the Arbor Day Foundation and garnering the highest ranking of any Kentucky college in the Sierra Club’s “Cool School” list at No. 51. Additionally, UofL issued a report, the , that showed the university is close to meeting its first benchmark in its goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

Sustainabilty Week begins Oct. 23 with “Mindful, Meatless Monday” events at various locales to show the links between sustainability and mindfulness practices. Try out Restorative Yoga (1 p.m.) or Yoga Flow (4 p.m.) at the Student Recreation Center. Drop by the Humanities Quad to catch a vegetarian cooking demonstration or learn about “mindful snacking” (2:30-4 p.m.).

Don’t forget that the UofL Free Store is open on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The store in the basement of Unitas Hall gives away donated items that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, get to The Ville Grill from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to try some of the featured locally-sourced or Kentucky Proud food items.

The  is Wednesday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Humanities Quad, featuring booths and information about what UofL and community organizations are doing to advance sustainability.

Thursday, Oct. 26, is the last chance to visit the Market this season and pick up local produce and food items, baked goods, honey, jams and jellies (11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Swing by on your bike and get a few tips at a free bike maintenance station hosted by .

On Friday, Oct. 27, come talk about “Global Politics of Climate Change” at the UofL Sustainability Roundtable with speaker , UofL professor of political science. The roundtable is from 11 a.m. to noon in Urban Studies Room 123 (426 W. Bloom St.) In addition, students are encouraged to take advantage of discounted registration fees for the from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (1701 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd).

Tree planting in Jeffersonville, Indiana, takes place Sat., Oct. 28 (9 a.m., 240 Wall St.) and volunteers are needed. Volunteers are also needed Sun., Oct. 29 at UofL’s compost site in the 200 block of East Bloom Street (one block north of Cardinal Boulevard between Brook and Floyd streets).

More Sustainability Week details .

Among other activities (see below), a Campus Sustainability Day Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 19 in the Humanities Quad on Belknap Campus. Students, staff and faculty will be able to get helpful information on transportation options and bicycle maintenance (bring your bike for a tune-up), and free shredding/recycling of documents, tapes and computer discs will be available.

One item sure to be of interest is the new, free Cardinal Directions trip-finding platform, which shows all of the university’s transportation options on one map. It is a one-stop-shop for UofL staff, faculty and students who want to find ways to save money, time, pollution and hassle by cutting back on driving to campus. It is also open to the public.

School of Dentistry Senior John Troehler signed up to use Cardinal Directions to see how well it catered to bicycle commuters.

“Reducing the use of combustion-based transport has been a defining facet of my life,” Troehler said. “I purposely live in a location where I can travel to all aspects of my normal life either by foot or by bicycle and was part of the first generation of students to receive a bicycle voucher. I have been commuting with that bicycle ever since.”

UofL’s nationally recognized, award-winning bicycle voucher program, “,” allows students, faculty and staff willing to give up the right to a parking permit for two years a chance to earn a $400 voucher to an area bike shop. Since 2012, UofL has given out 1,550 vouchers.

To get started with Cardinal Directions, visit , and type in your starting point and destination. All options will be displayed and users can easily compare the relative travel time, mileage, carbon emissions and calories burned by each option.

The map also shows locations of vehicles available to the public through the and provides links for transportation options between cities, such as Amtrak or Megabus.

Through the program, which has been operating on the Belknap Campus since 2012, those who have purchased an annual membership can use a new, fuel-efficient vehicle for hourly, overnight and daily rentals. Earlier this year, the program expanded to the Health Sciences Center to serve the downtown area. The car-sharing program is offering a promotion through Dec. 31 in which new UofL members can join for $1 and drive for just $5 per hour.

Sustainability Week runs through Oct. 23. On the evening of Oct. 19, UofL will host the Louisville Sustainability Council’s monthly “” networking event for professionals interested in sustainability. The event will start at 6 p.m. with a campus sustainability tour leaving from in front of the University Club and end at Old Louisville Tavern, 1532 S. 4^th St.

The week’s activities include (For a full schedule, .):  

• Oct. 20 (Belknap Campus, Humanities Quad) – Bike maintenance workshop
• Oct. 21, noon – Ekstrom Library, W210.
• Oct. 21, 2-3 p.m. – (Cultural Center)
• Oct. 23 –UofL Volunteer Day, 200 block of E. Bloom St. (one block north of Cardinal Boulevard between Brook and Floyd streets)

UofL has a goal of reducing our net greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. For more information, contact Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, at 852-8575.