The Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program, a program of Catholic Charities of Louisville, is dedicated to the empowerment and improved quality of life of refugee families and communities through agricultural opportunities. RAPP's programs bolster physical and mental health, community integration, access to healthy food and supplemental income. RAPP supports refugee communities' self-reliance by facilitating access to land, culturally-appropriate training, community education, technical assistance, and opportunities for supplemental income.

The goals of RAPP are to empower participating refugees to:

use their extensive agricultural skills and experience to

reduce food costs for their families and communities;

continue traditions from their homelands that will

ease acculturation to the Louisville Metro area; and

build entrepreneurial skills and supplement family income

by selling produce through local outlets.

Shorter Presentations

Sustainability by Air Movement

James DeSmet, Vice President, Engineering, Big Ass Solutions

Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition

Andrew Kang Bartlett

Now in its seventh year, the purposes of the Louisville Sustainability Forum are:

1.We hold and promote the intention of sustainability for Louisville.

2. We establish and nourish relationships that strengthen

community and create change.

3. We create a space for discussion that inspires, motivates and deepens

our ability to catalyze social change.

Food & drink:

Heine Bros. provides us with Heine Bros. coffee. Feel free to bring a bag lunch. If you'd like to prepare extra food or drink to share with others, that is always welcome!

Thursday, August 7, 9:00am to 4:00pm

Icky Nature Program for Kids

Louisville Nature Center, 3745 Illinois Ave

Explore the yuckier side of the natural world, from slime to scat and more.
We will learn why gross is good when it comes to animal survival.
Warning -- we may get dirty!

Ages 6-12. Limited to 20 participants.
Cost: $15 for LNC members; $20, non-members

For more information, you can E-mail us at
LNC@bellsouth.net or call us at (502) 458-1328
www.louisvillenaturecenter.org

Friday, August 8, 9:00am to 4:00pm

Let's Face It!

Nature Program for Kids

Louisville Nature Center, 3745 Illinois Ave

Explore the art of portraits and learn about animal faces. Campers will take advantage of the morning sun to create shadow silhouettes, hike to find faces in nature, add clay features to trees to create a face, and use found natural materials to create a self-portrait.

The afternoon will be spent animal mask-making; and campers will learn how animal eye placement and size play a role in their survival. Eyes in the front, the animal hunts. Eyes on the side, the animal hides.

Ages 6-12. Limited to 20 participants.

Cost: $15 for LNC members; $20, non-members

For more information, you can E-mail us at LNC@bellsouth.net

or call us at (502) 458-1328

www.louisvillenaturecenter.org

Thursday, August 14, 8am

Compassionate Louisville Town Hall Meeting

Louisville Central Community Center

1300 Muhammad Ali Blvd

Experience compassion in action

Each month we invite you on a pilgrimage to discover the city's often hidden compassion gems.

Once at the site, we will

share the mission of the host organization

celebrate the newest organizations to have adopted a compassion resolution

share how Compassionate Louisville is encouraging compassionate action

provide a forum for you and others to share their compassionate actions.

Everyone is invited! Bring a Friend! No RSVP required.

Through intention and social innovation, Compassionate Louisville creates

and celebrates a community and world becoming more and more compassionate.

The mission of the Partnership for a Compassionate Louisville is to champion and

nurture the growth of compassion.

Visit the Compassionate Louisville Website.

We ask: 'What does compassion want for Louisville?'

Friday, August 15 7 pm - 9 pm

15 Thousand Farmers Celebration

1741: A Collaboratory for Social Innovation

1741 Frankfort Ave at the corner of William Street

This month event takes place during the Frankfort Avenue Trolley Hop!
We will be offering raised bed garden demonstrations and much more!

Thursday, August 16

Music by the Water Concert Series featuring

kRi and Hettie 7 pm

Cosa Seria 8:30 pm

Norton Commons Amphitheater

Kri & Hettie will open the show at 7 pm, and

Cosa Seria will headline the event at 8:30 pm.

Bring your chairs, blankets and snacks and enjoy the music!

There will even be a dance floor so you can salsa and cha cha the night away.

We'll have food trucks available for your enjoyment.

Admission is free. No pets, please.

Check out Kri and Hettie here.

Check out Cosa Seria here.

Monday, August 18, 6 pm

Social Change Book Club

Reign of Error:

The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and
the Danger to America's Public Schools

by Diane Ravitch

Heine Bros. Coffee, 119 Chenoweth Lane

Diane Ravitch was for many years one of the strongest advocates for the testing-and-accountability agenda. Because of her impeccable credentials as a scholar and historian of education, she was a commanding presence among critics of our schools. Some years ago, however, she reconsidered her long-held beliefs and, in the 2014 Grawemeyer education award winning book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, parted ways with her former allies and joined the opposition.

In her new book, Reign of Error, Ravitch set s out to answer these questions:

Is American education in crisis?

Is American education failing and declining?

What is the evidence for the reforms now being promoted by the federal government and adopted in many states?

What should we do to improve our schools and the lives of children?

The Social Change Book Club is open to everyone who is interested in understanding, participating, leading, or supporting social change. Please just show up if you are interested--no RSVP, commitment, etc. It is great when people have read the book, but that is not a requirement to come and discuss.

Hosted by Howard Mason

HowardMason@NewPossibilitiesAssociates.com

www.NewPossibilitiesAssociates.com

Tuesday, August 19, 6 pm

Greater Louisville Sierra Club

featuring Stephen T. Porter on Urban Sprawl

Clifton Center, 2117 Payne Street

Please join us for this program devoted to the impact of sprawl and the need for thoughtful, sustainable development and planning in our community. Our guest speaker is Stephen T. Porter. Mr. Porter, an attorney, focuses on land use law, planning and zoning, and historic preservation. He is a charter member of the Louisville Historical League; a member of the Louisville Metro Land Development Code Improvement Committee; and adjunct professor at the Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, teaching land use and planning law. Mr. Porter is a past recipient of the Founders Award from the Louisville Historical League and a "Louisville's Next Top Neighbors" award from the Center for Neighborhoods.

In the report, Measuring Sprawl 2014, Metro Louisville is ranked the 60th most sprawling area in the country. The report, published by Smart Growth America, notes connections to sprawl index scores and quality of life, including housing and transportation costs, safety, and life span. In addition, dwindling farm land, green spaces, and beautiful landscapes continue to be developed and destroyed for lucrative land development opportunities.

This program is free and open to the public. Please join us.

August 22 - 24 Friday 6 pm thru Noon Sunday

The Landscape of Dreams:

A nature-based, soulcentric dream exploration

with Doug Van Houten assisted by Marilyn Stoner

Lake St. Joseph, Crestwood, Kentucky

By re-entering and immersing ourselves in dream time together, we will invite the more mysterious, deeper realms of the human psyche to lead us toward an encounter with our own deep wisdom, our souls. This powerful approach may help us to heal, to welcome forgotten or buried parts of ourselves, and holds the potential for us to deeply experience personal transformation.

Rather than interpret our dreams, we will create the space and time to let our dreams "work" us using body centered, nature-based expression, and experiential exercises. We'll also explore enacting dreams using group techniques,

What you will learn:

Ways to remember your dreams

How to tend to a dream on your own at home, or

in nature

Ways to invite yourself into the dream landscape

and be present to the elements of the dream

How to bring dream elements to

Guide Fee: sliding scale $100 - $150 Indoor Lodging: $60

$50 non-refundable deposit required to hold your space

Pre-Registration required. Additional information here.

Space is limited - Reserve your spot today!

For info or to register: doug@dougvanhouten.com (502) 472-6563

Friday, August 22 7:30 pm

Soulful Sundown: Celebrating the Meaning in Our Lives

Hearth Room, Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church

4936 Brownsboro Rd

Soulful Sundown is an expressive and contemplative gathering featuring diverse music, meditation, and an experiential reflection. Our gatherings are for all who value a free and liberal spirituality.

The gathering will be followed by beverages and desserts at 8:15 pm. Please bring a dessert to share and invite any friends who may enjoy a Soulful Sundown. Need childcare? Please send an email request to the church office by no later than August 15 office@tjuc.org

Contact Barb Friedland for more info at barb@tjuc.org

August 22 through August 24

KFTC's statewide Annual Membership Meeting

General Butler State Park in Carrollton.

The annual meeting is a time for all KFTC members to gather together to celebrate great work over the past year, learn new skills and hold the yearly business meeting. During the business portion of the meeting, members will consider the proposed changes to our platform, elect statewide officers and accept new or renewing chapters for the coming year.

Our meeting's theme this year is "From the Grassroots to the Mountaintop: Empowering Grassroots Leaders" and will focus on ways to build our grassroots power and leadership capacity.

KFTC's success depends on the involvement and commitment of thousands of people, including you! Join us this weekend to learn what leadership means to KFTC and gain skills to become a leader in KFTC and your own community!

Please register on our website.

Sunday, August 31st 11 am

Sunday Serve Us! with Mark, kRi and Hettie!

"Wisdom From the Garden"

Clifton Universalist Unitarian Church, 2231 Payne Street

Mark and kRi will share the message at this, the final Sunday Serve Us of our monthly series at Clifton UUC! Through stories, songs, poems and more we will explore some of the gleanings from our interactions with veggies, fruits, soil and other plant spirits! From seed to harvest to belly it's quite a journey.

Clifton Universalist Unitarian Church is a progressive religious community with a diverse membership that welcomes folks of all backgrounds, beliefs, and lifestyles. Ours is not a dogmatic, but a pragmatic faith. We may not share the same ideas, but we do share a common way of relating to others and our world that includes justice, compassion, kindness, and respect. It is in this spirit of open-heartedness and open-mindedness that we eagerly open our doors to you.

Elders and Wisdom Keepers
Rubert Sheldrake

I have spent the many years since I read Rupert Sheldrake's Seven Experiments that Could Change the World (1994) processing the ramifications of his bold experiments and paradigm shifting perspectives. His out of the box thinking disturbs the traditional scientific reductionist world view while both delighting and challenging those looking to integrate spirituality and the quantum realms.

"Right" or "Wrong" or "something beyond our present understanding" Sheldrake's ideas invite us to see the world with eyes of wonder and possibilities. This is something I very much appreciate from a world where science can sometimes be dry to the extent of lifelessness.

Rupert's views have come to the cultural forefront more recently with the publishing of his latest work Science Set Free (or The Science Delusion as it is named in the UK) and the recent controversial censorship of his TedX talks by the folks at Ted hq.

You can read Charles Eisenstein take on the whole censorship thing here.

And watch one of Rupert's talks for yourself here.

Rupert Sheldrake - The Science Delusion
BANNED TED TALK

Louisville TimeBank Update

The Louisville TimeBank has accepted tenancy at Highland Community Campus, the new permanent home of Highland Community Ministries. We will have an office space, storage for TimeBank materials, room for our orientations, a permanent home for our potlucks, and the ability to use the building in multiple ways that we will develop over time.

We are excited about the possibilities and are thrilled to be partnering with such a wonderful organization. We can't wait to be building synergy with HCM's programs and all of the other non profit organizations sharing the building.

To read more about Highland Community Campus check out this Courier Journal article.

And for an article about the TimeBank itself here.

And to visit the Louisville TimeBank website here.

Save the Dates for September and October

Earth Art Adventures are headed to the Louisville Nature Center!

Saturday, September 6, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

Earth Art Adventures: A Free Family Nature Art Activity

Discover how easy it is to seek and find art inspiration everywhere! Experience the excitement of connecting with your world and creating amazing art. People of all ages will delight in using their imaginations and finding hidden pictures in the landscape. Participants will learn to "draw on nature", photograph, print and craft art images and learn to share inspired stories. Bring your friends and family and join in all the fun! No previous art experience necessary.

The Louisville Nature Center and Cultivating Connections are proud to bring Earth Art Adventures to the Louisville area for a free public event. Join us at the Louisville Nature Center on Saturday, September 6th from 1-3:00 for this unique "Art for All" event.

This program is offered for free. Donations are appreciated.

Pre-regstration preferred.

Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 pm

An Earth Art Adventure Introduction for

Teachers, Trainers and Other Professionals

RSVP to cultivatingconnections@twc.com

People's Climate March
Sunday, September 21
in NYC and here in Louisville
Save the Date - Details Coming Soon.

Monday, September 22 7:00pm

Autumn Equinox Sacred Celebration

Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church

October 24 - 26

Bluegrass Bioneers: Growing the Movement

Exciting details coming soon.

www.bluegrassbioneers.org

Don't Forget the GreenList

For a much wider variety of events, articles and organization's dedicated to sustainability and all things green, check out
GreenList Louisville: Your Guide to Sustainable Living.

Founders Andy and Carol Wolak's dedication and hard work launched both
the very handy print publication and it's companion website which
they handed off to BeCreative's Ben Evans last year.

You can find hard copies (printed on SFI paper with soy-based inks) all around Metro Louisville and the electronic version online at greenlistlouisville.com

This information brought to you by
Cultivating Connections

www.cultivatingconnections.org

cultivatingconnections@twc.com
502-897-2721
Louisville, Kentucky

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