Waterfront Botanical Gardens is hosting its annual fundraiser, The Prelude: Urban Garden Party, this Saturday, June 10. The event features libations, a farm-to-table supper, and performances by artists of the Louisville Ballet and Ben Sollee and Friends.

The event will be held directly on Frankfort Avenue, just south of River Road, and the Gardens has been issued a permit to close lower Frankfort Avenue from the I-71 overpass to River Road – near the Heigold Façade. The closure will begin on Saturday, June 9 at 8:00 a.m. and last until Monday, June 11 at 8:00 p.m. For more information, please contact the Waterfront Botanical Gardens directly at 276-5404.

Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light is hosting “Why Should I Care About The Farm Bill” from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church, 142 Crescent Avenue.  This event will focus on several of the proposed changes in the upcoming bill and talk about how these changes affect our everyday lives.

The Farm Bill is coming due for another five-year renewal and the versions are likely to have a huge impact on many people in our communities. Whether it is providing a safeguard against poor nutrition through the SNAP program, supporting sustainable growth of organic farms and farmers markets, promoting healthy development in rural communities or increasing land conservation through rewards programs, the Farm Bill is very important to the health of our neighbors, our land, our water and our local economies.

Join the discussion from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. tonight, June 7, at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church and find out why this legislation affects you.

Curious about what’s inside the large Gothic structure sitting in the middle of the Crescent Hill Reservoir? Now is your chance to take a peek inside with the return of Walking Wednesdays. Join Louisville Water Company staff from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month (June-September) for an insider tour and learn about the history. 

Help us clean up the Ohio River!

Louisville MSD proudly sponsors Ohio River Sweep with the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), LG&E and Louisville Water. Ohio River Sweep is one of the largest annual environmental cleanups in the United States.

On June 16, at 9:00 a.m. thousands of volunteers will remove tons of trash and debris. This cleanup encompasses the entire length of the river, from its origin in Pittsburgh, PA to its end in Cairo, IL, including nearly 3,000 miles of shoreline and many tributaries.

A MSD employee will coordinate each site, supplying volunteers with gloves, trash bags, and t-shirt. Please plan to attend one of the D9 cleanups.

• Eva Bandman Park, 1701 River Road
• Karen Lynch Park, 1731 Brownsboro Road

To learn more or register, please visit http://www.orsanco.org/river-sweep/.

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

Last weekend, June 2 & 3, River City Paddlesports hosted a 30-foot voyageur canoe trip on 133 miles of the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Louisville Waterfront Park. It was great to greet the crew at the Louisville Community Boathouse in D9 on Sunday

Planner & participant David Wicks reports: “133 miles from Cincinnati to Louisville along the Ohio River. 9 adventuresome folks from Cincinnati and Louisville area paddled this distance in 32 hours, 

straight through all night long. 9 of us in a 30-foot canoe. The folks from Cincinnati organize the Ohio River Paddlefest while the Louisville people help with the Mayor’s Hike Bike and Paddle. The goal was to have an adventure while at the same time develop relationships that could help promote recreation on our river.”

Thanks for helping increase awareness about our shared resource – the Ohio.  

The Louisville Energy Alliance, in partnership with Louisville Metro Government’s Office of Sustainability, will host a complimentary ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager 3-part training session June 11th, June 29th and July 20th. The training will be held at the Spalding University campus in downtown Louisville and each session will include a one-hour webinar hosted by ENERGY STAR followed by on-site assistance. 

Portfolio Manager is a free, online software that enables building owners and managers to track and evaluate a facility’s energy and water consumption over time.  Buildings that perform in the top 25% of their peers, receiving a minimum score of 75/100, are eligible to receive the ENERGY STAR certification.

Session One PM 101:

Attendees will learn the basic functionality of Portfolio Manager as well as how to set up an account, log energy and water use data and generate custom reports from the data.

Session Two PM 201:

Attendees will build upon the concepts covered in Portfolio Manager 101. In addition they will learn about EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool and how to edit property data, correct or update property use details, use the Data Quality Checker, and share property data.

Session Three PM 301:

Attendees will build upon concepts learned in PM 101 and 201.  In addition they will learn how to update data using the spreadsheet upload feature; set baseline, goals, and targets to plan energy improvement; create custom reports; and use the Sustainable Buildings Checklist.

Link to registration: http://www.louisvilleenergyalliance.org/portfolio-manager-training.html

The 9th District Urban Services District (USD) will have junk collection set-out on a select weekend in June, depending on your address.  You may begin setting out your junk Friday afternoon prior to your junk pick-up week and must have it all out by Monday at 6:00 AM. For most of the USD in District 9, the set out period is June 15-17. For your specific junk set-out weekend please visit http://www.louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council-district-9 and scroll to the bottom of the page to “MyLouisville” and enter your address, call the office at 574-1109, or email Kyle Ethridge.  For collection guidelines please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-works/services/junk-and-bulk-trash-disposal. You may now sign up for junk set out reminders by email and text under “MyLouisville”.

Our next Community Conversation is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19 at Whitehall House & Gardens, 3110 Lexington Road, beginning at 6:30 pm.  A representative of LMPD will be present to talk about starting a neighborhood watch program on your street and to answer any questions you may have about crime prevention in the area. 

I’ll also be available to talk about any issues you’d like to discuss.  Please mark your calendar and join us – and bring along a friend or neighbor!

The Louisville Bats are once again hosting Louisville Metro Government Nights. Community Involvement Vouchers are available for groups and organizations doing good works in the community. Tickets are available on the following Monday nights: June 11, July 2 and September 3.  

To request tickets, please contact Jessica Adell at jadell@batsbaseball.com. Please include your Metro Council District, contact name, mailing address, daytime phone and number of tickets requested. 

Cyclouvia will transform The Avenue into a paved park where people of all ages and backgrounds can walk, bike, dance, skate, or participate in any other physical activity on public spaces that are always there but are normally reserved for automobiles. The street will be closed to motorized traffic from Stilz Avenue to Pope Street with cross traffic allowed at Ewing Avenue under traffic control officer supervision from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 11. Cyclouvia will promote healthy lifestyles and alternative modes of transportation. The Crescent Hill Library at 2762 Frankfort Avenue, will be open special hours during the event. Cyclouvia is FREE and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

The Landbank Authority has launched a new Last Look Properties website. Properties are sold for $1 on a first come, first serve basis and more information can be found via the Authority’s website here. If you have any questions, please contact 574-4200.

A D9 institution, Hadley Pottery, located at 1570 Story Avenue, has new owners – Jerry Day and Josh Day, long-time employees of the company. It was started by Mary Alice Hadley in 1940 and has since attracted shoppers from around the globe. Jerry and Josh are third and fourth generation workers at the factory, with 44 years and 15 years of service, respectively.

The new owners are hosting a month-long sale through the end of June. Enjoy 15% off already reduced prices and 20% off personalized items. Every Saturday in June, enjoy donuts by Bussmann’s bakery with coffee and juice. Hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Questions, please contact 584-2171.