Sustainability Now! | Mad Marchal | Louisville Grows | Urban Agriculture | 7-31-23

On this week’s Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, plays in the dirt with Mad Marchal, the Urban Agriculture Program Manager for Louisville Grows (http://louisvillegrows.org) and a member of Forward Radio’s proud Community Partner, the Urban Agriculture Coalition (http://foodinneighborhoods.org/grow). Tune-in to celebrate the abundance of mid-summer in our urban gardens/orchards and learn some of the many ways you can get involved in growing more of your own food and in planting seeds of food justice all over our community!

Louisville Grows invites you out to a Community Orchard Info Session at the Healthy House (1641 Portland Ave) on either Thursday 8/3 6-7:30pm, or Saturday 8/5 10-11:30am. If you have been thinking about starting or improving a community orchard, please come to the Healthy House to learn about partnership with The Giving Grove program to provide educational support with organic pest and disease management, proper maintenance of fruit trees, design planning and much more!

They are also seeking volunteers to help out in the Greenhouse (next to the Healthy House at 1639 Portland Ave.) with shifts available through August 17th. Volunteers will help prepare for this year’s Fall Seeds & Starts Sale by planting seeds, potting starts, mixing soil, weeding, installing weed barriers, and performing other tasks in the greenhouse. Get your hands dirty while learning techniques for your own growing. No experience is required and gloves are provided. Volunteers receive a discount at upcoming sales!! Learn more & sign-up for a shift at http://tinyurl.com/GreenhouseSummer23

The Fall Seeds & Starts Sale will be on Sunday, Sept. 10th 10am-3pm at the Louisville Grows greenhouse next to the Healthy House at 1639 Portland Ave. You can learn more and pre-order Mushroom Grow Kits and Microgreens Kits at http://seedsandstarts.org

Register now for the DIY Microgreens Workshop on Tuesday, August 15th 6-7pm at the Healthy House. Learn to grow your own microgreens, an incredibly easy, super nutritious and cost effective way to add major nutrients to any meal year round. There is a registration fee, but all participants will make one kit during the class and receive a second to take home! Learn more and register at http://louisvillegrows.org

You can also register now for Louisville Grows’ fall fundraiser, the Plant 5k on Saturday, September 16th in Jeffersonville, IN. Learn more about sponsorships and registration at http://plant5k.org

Registration is now open (with an Early Bird Deadline of August 1st) for Weaving the Food Web: The People’s Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture, which will take place on Friday-Saturday, September 8–9th at 100 Witherspoon Conference Center. Food in Neighborhoods and KSU Cooperative Extension are organizing this public event which includes tours of local urban ag, food apartheid and grassroots efforts to increase healthy food access. Workshops will address: food apartheid and environmental racism; youth leadership training; how to grow your own food; cooperative economics and Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs); urban and rural land access; New American success stories; and local food policy advocacy. Hot breakfast & lunch, childcare, and ASL & language interpretation will be offered. Grow Appalachia is offering free registration for beginning farmers. Learn more at http://foodinneighborhoods.org

As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!

Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com