SPRING IS IN THE AIR! The trees and flowers are in bloom, and the air is abuzz with energy as more and more people emerge from isolation after receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. While we enjoy the warming weather, our bourbon cocktails and beloved Kentucky spring traditions, we are each continuing to reflect on the past months and the lessons we’ve learned in Louisville, and continue to explore how we each can be a part of the solution for a Healthier Louisville, and a Healthier world.
THE SPEED ART MUSEUM opened a new exhibition, entitled "Promise, Witness, Remembrance" that reflects on the life of Breonna Taylor, her murder in 2020, and the year of protests that followed in Louisville and around the world. The Speed Art Museum is truly an inspired leader in our community as they work to create a new, healthy vision for Louisville and we were thrilled to see that they were featured in the New York Timesearlier this month. The exhibit will be open until June 6, 2021.
WITH SUPPORT FROM the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Gabriella Boros' traveling exhibit FEMMEnomenal Bluegrass Botanicals can be seen around the Lake Nevin Loop at Bernheim and in the windows of the future Harmony Complex in downtown Louisville. This body of work inspires deep connections with nature while educating the viewer on extraordinary women who have shaped Kentucky's history.
See the exhibition at the future Harmony Complex through the end of August 2021. Stay tuned to see where the exhibition will travel next.
ASHOCKING NEW STUDY has revealed that 64% of the entire world’s farmland is at risk of pollution from pesticides. Tragically, we have fallen complicit in a system of agriculture where we cannot sustainably grow the amount of food we need without poisoning the land and water we grow it with. We are hopeful to be part of the solution to this and will join in signing this petition to ask the FAO to create a task force in charge of transitioning away from these harmful practices.
THE BERRY CENTER has released a four-part series of videos in celebration of Earth Day. Mary Berry reads excerpts from her father's essay "Solving for Pattern" as an introduction of Wendell Berry's work to the world through the lens of The Berry Center. These readings focus on the state of our planet and how We Are All Part of the Solution! Click here to view the first part of the series.
THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLEis conducting a study to understand immunity to COVID-19 in Louisville, either because of someone having the virus or because they are fully vaccinated. To look at immunity we will measure antibodies to COVID-19 as well as test for a current infection. This information will help with fully reopening our community safely. Watch this 30-second video to see what it’s all about!
Adults age 18 years and older are invited to answer a short questionnaire and go to one of many drive through sites in Louisville for free testing with a nasal swab and a finger stick. They can take part even if they’ve received the vaccine. Participants will receive a $10 gift card from community partners after they have been tested. If someone tests positive for COVID-19 current infection, they will need to follow-up with their healthcare provider and begin isolation. By law, we will be required to report the case to local health agencies. For questions or concerns please contact [email protected] or call 833-313-0502. Taking part is voluntary, but by participating, you will help determine how to reopen our community safely!
THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE'S School of Medicine is partnering with the Oakdale-Wyandotte, Jacobs, Taylor-Berry, Wilder Park, Beechmont, and Hazelwood neighborhoods to conduct the Health, Environment, and Action in Louisville (HEAL) Study. The HEAL Study is part of the Green Heart project. Green Heart is studying what community residents think makes a happy, healthy neighborhood and if certain neighborhood characteristics, like air pollution and greenness, impact health. Participants will receive a VISA gift card for participating. Learn more or check to see if you qualify for the HEAL Study.
THE ENVIROME INSTITUTE was awarded an $8.6 million grant from the CDC to continue their research and testing of the COVID-19 spread via wastewater in Louisville’s neighborhoods. This grant will allow their research to go one step further with the goal of being able to use this data to estimate how many people within affected neighborhoods are infected. “This could revolutionize the way we track and contain pandemics, and not just COVID-19,” said Aruni Bhatnagar, professor of medicine. “It gives us an invaluable tool that could offer a clearer view of where and how the virus spreads."
THE NUCLEOPHILLIC DEFENSEagainst PM Toxicity (NEAT) Trial is an innovative study to see whether taking a dietary supplement of Carnosine can help protect against particulate matter air pollution, which is very high in Louisville and surrounding areas. Check to see if you qualify for the NEAT Trial.
Louisville Historic League Sues Metro Council over Transparency with Liberty Hall
LAST TIME, we shared the sad and baffling news that a majority of Metro Council members voted to try to undo their own historic landmarking process for Liberty Hall, aka the Odd Fellows building. This would allow for the demolition of a 120-year-old fixture in the heart of our city. Adding insult to injury, taxpayers would have to pay for it thanks to a bad faith deal with the Dallas-based holding company for Omni Hotels.
The Louisville Historic League is now fighting that maneuver in the courts. “The underlying rationale for such an unorthodox subversion of its own process has been various and disconnected, leaving the public with more questions and, in some cases, cynical conclusions,” Steve Wiser said in a statement about the lawsuit.
OUR FRIENDS IN INDIA are currently suffering through a devastating surge of the coronavirus and are in desperate need of oxygen machines and oxygen. Please consider joining us in donating to this urgent cause through the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. -Donate $500 for an oxygen machine
-Donate any amount to go toward oxygen supply
MOTHER NATURE IS A GIFT - reminding us that our impact stretches beyond in miraculous ways. Grateful for Mike Hofelich, he is a brilliant Beekeeper, and he was so generous with his knowledge and passion. The videos we captured are on Facebook.
