The Lights Out Louisville launch event
The Louisville Audubon Society officially launched Lights Out Louisville on Aug. 22, 2024!
THANK YOU to all the attendees and supporters who helped us kick off this important conservation initiative in style!
ABOUT THE EVENT
When: Aug. 22, 2024, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Where: the Auditorium inside the Louisville Free Public Library’s Main Branch, located at 301 York St, Louisville, Kentucky (map)
What: The event included a screening of an award-winning documentary about the critical mission to protect migratory birds, and the power of combining science and action to drive environmental progress. The screening was followed by a Q&A featuring a panel of experts from across Kentucky.
THE FILM
“Lights Out Texas”—a 35-minute film produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in association with several Texas conservation groups—highlights the researchers using advanced data sciences to predict environmental patterns and uncover the effects of light pollution on migrating birds.
The documentary presents a success story in Texas, where collaboration between conservation organizations, government bodies, and the private sector has resulted in meaningful actions to protect birds on their biannual journeys.
OUR PARTNERS
The screening was presented with permission from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and through the generosity of the Louisville Free Public Library in allowing LAS the use of its staff and facilities for this event.
OUR PANEL
OF EXPERTS
Betty Barr, Dark Sky Advocate
bettyanddon@comcast.net
Dr. Vincent Cassone, The Jack and Linda Gill Professor of Biology, University of Kentucky
Vincent.Cassone@uky.edu
Vincent M. Cassone focuses on the mechanisms by which organisms tell time—time of day, time of year, and even the passage of time from birth to death. His team’s research asks how the circadian biological clock regulates complex behavior and physiology. The Cassone lab has studied how the circadian clock regulates the timing and complexity of birdsong over the course of the day and seasonally.
Sarah Lynn Cunningham, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Louisville Climate Action Network (LCAN)
Sarah Lynn Cunningham is a licensed environmental engineer and educator, and, for 50 years, an activist. She holds two interdisciplinary degrees from the University of Louisville: a bachelor’s degree in applied science in environmental engineering and a master’s degree in environmental education and environmental history. After retiring from civil service, she began applying her practical experience to achieving clients’ energy efficiency and renewable energy goals. After joining the Climate Reality Project—an international effort—and being licensed by Al Gore to give her version of “An Inconvenient Truth,” she co-founded LCAN. In addition to teaching for LCAN, she teaches Building Operator Certification courses and public workshops on saving energy.
Dan Price
NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador
dan@starpointestudio.com
Dan Price is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, informal educator, newspaper columnist, and Volunteer Naturalist at Bernheim Forest. His weekly “Bluegrass Skies” column has appeared in the Frankfort State Journal for almost five years. A lifelong amateur astronomer and student of science originally from Buffalo, New York, Dan has been conducting astronomy outreach programs in Kentucky for almost a decade and has worked with Frankfort Audubon in defense of dark skies for nearly as long. Price’s passion for public education stems from the belief that a better understanding of the way the world works is a cornerstone of compassion and community.