Louisville Grows’ mission is to grow a just and sustainable community through urban agriculture, urban forestry, and environmental education. Our mission sits firmly within the theme of the ESA 2019 Annual Meeting, “Bridging Communities and Ecosystems: Inclusion as an Ecological Imperative.” Louisville Grows recognizes that the human realm is not separate from nature, but that we participate in the ecosystems of the places where we live, even when we have altered and built up the environment for our own purposes. Our community-based approach to our work is meant to demonstrate to average citizens that community is an important aspect of the systems we inhabit and that our communities are a prime resource for addressing socio-ecological issues such as food scarcity and urban heat.

Our proposed field trip will take attendees two four sites of urban agriculture. The 7th Street and Parkland Community Gardens are spaces where residents of some of Louisville’s lower socioeconomic neighborhoods are able to provide themselves with fresh, healthy food in the midst of food-insecure neighborhoods. Michael Rogers’ private urban agricultural site further demonstrates how urban settings can be used to produce food. The Hope Community Farm is run by refugees living in Louisville who sell their produce as CSA shares. Hope Farm demonstrates how urban agriculture can be a resource for disenfranchised people who can use their skills and increase their agricultural knowledge as a means of providing a living and establishing themselves in a new place.