Campus News

'Earthdays in the Bluegrass' Concludes Another Year

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2010) – The University of Kentucky today celebrates the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a massive outdoor fair, with another nine days of activities to complete Earthdays in the Bluegrass 2010.

Earth Day Fair

April 22, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Student Center Patio and Free Speech Area

Activities, prizes, live music, and local food enhance the experience while meeting campus and community organizations that are making the Bluegrass a better place to live. Do-it-yourself activities include: book making, tie-dying T-shirts (bring your own shirt or purchase one from us) and more! For more information, contact Sarah Wightman at sarah.wightman@uky.edu

"Avatar"

April 22, 10 p.m., Worsham Theater UK Student Center

This record-breaking, Oscar-winning science fiction blockbuster offers some great insight on sustainability and is a visual feast. Screened in 2D and co-sponsored by the Late Night Film Series

Campus Clean-up

April 23, 5-7 p.m., Stoll Field

Join other UK students in a campus clean-up effort. All participants will receive a free Earthdays in the Bluegrass T-shirt.

Arbor Day

April 24, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., The Arboretum

Lexington’s 19th annual Arbor Day celebration will be held at The Arboretum. The theme for this year’s event is “Right Tree, Right Place, Right Way” and will feature displays and activities sponsored by more than 40 exhibitors, a variety of environmental demonstrations, and children’s activities including crafts and a visit from Smokey Bear. Tree seedlings and composters will be available free of charge on a first come, first served basis. This is event is free and open to the public thanks to the support of Lexmark and other supporters including the Lexington Fayette Environmental Commission, Big Beaver Tree Service, Community Tree Care, Commonwealth Credit Union, and Friends of The Arboretum. For more information, visit http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/.  

Eat Something Local Day

All Day, Everywhere

Local food is thousands of miles fresher. Eating local foods promotes a cleaner environment, a healthier economy, and helps sustain a way of life for Kentucky's many family farms. Make a difference by tasting the difference and eat something local today. Learn more about local food at KYproud.com. Lexington's Farmers Market is a great place to buy local agricultural products (Lexingtonfarmersmarket.com) E-mail (edbg2010@gmail.com ) a pledge to eat more local food for a chance to win a FREE Earthdays in the Bluegrass T–shirt

Tour of SKY Blue: UK's award-winning solar home

April 26, 10 a.m.–noon, front lawn of the Main Building

The UK architectural design for the 2009 Solar Decathlon presents an optimized living and learning environment that actively engages the landscape through an integrated design approach. This holistic design motif demonstrates a range of integrated possibilities for site-malleable and contextual solutions for living under the sun today. SKY BLUE finished ninth overall in the 2009 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon and also garnered second place in the people's choice award.

Campus Consciousness Tour, featuring DRAKE

April 27, 8 p.m., Memorial Coliseum, tickets required

Half rock tour, half environmental campaign, the Campus Consciousness Tour aims to inspire and activate students in an electric atmosphere while leaving a positive impact on each community the tour visits. In addition to educating and mobilizing students, the tour includes many greening elements and is run to have a minimal environmental footprint. Presented by the The Student Activities Board.

Tour of UK's Organic Research Farm

April 28, 3:45 p.m., meet outside Mellow Mushroom on Limestone

This is a great opportunity to check out the fascinating work that UK is doing with regard to sustainable agriculture and to learn more about how you can become a part of a sustainable food system for the Bluegrass region. As a bonus, there is free transportation via Lexington's Public Transportation System, Lextran. Due to bus schedules, please arrive promptly at 3:45 p.m.

"Microcosmos"

April 29, 8:30 p.m., UK Arboretum

One of the best animal documentary movies shows the life of tiny insects like flies, spiders, bugs, ants, frogs, worms and snails in a French forest. The film will be screened in the amphitheater of The Arboretum beginning at dark.

Share the Road! Group Bicycle Ride

April 30, 5:30 p.m., Woodland Park
Bicycling is by far the best way to get around our campus and our community. It's a cleaner, healthier, cheaper, and faster way to travel. However, it can be scary and intimidating to get back on a bike if you haven't been on one in years. Riding in traffic can be stressful stuff too. This ride will begin with a discussion of local bicycling ordinances and will be a great opportunity to gain confidence riding your bicycle on the street. Helmets are strongly recommended. The ride will conclude at the UK Student Center for a screening of the bike documentary "Still We Ride." Film begins at 7 p.m. in the Worsham Theater.

Adopt-a-highway KY 1973

May 1, 1 p.m., UK Student Center parking lot

Carpool with members of UK Greenthumb, the state's largest student environmental club, to clean up a gorgeous stretch of this Bluegrass byway. For more information and to arrange carpooling, contact Matt Kramer at matthew.kramer@uky.edu .