I'm not even going to make a 2020 joke. Here's a list of accomplishments Beargrass Thunder has made in the last year:
Beargrass Thunder in 2020
January
01/04 - State of the Alley: Kemmons Alley Art Project final update (12/31/19): The final update on the Kemmons Alley Art Project - we're chalking this up as a major success. We used art and nature to prevent drug use, break-ins, and other crime. working with the community we were able to make this into a safe place for residents to enjoy and connect with their neighbors. (video)
01/15 - Jody & Mariah make the move to Smoketown
February
In February we weren't able put out any content due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We did lots of back-end maintenance and behind the scenes work creating a roadmap for the year.
March
03/07 - Richard & Nikole make the move to Smoketown
03/26 - Isolation Vacation with Beargrass Thunder: We introduced a new segment to help people cope with quarantine and learn about gardening and nature while they were safe at home (article)
03/27 - Backyard Biodiversity: Bush Honeysuckle (article)
03/28 - Backyard Biodiversity: White Clover - pollinator plant (article)
03/28 - Backyard Biodiversity: American Bladdernut - pollinator plant (article)
03/29 - Sunflowers for our neighbors: the beginning of our "seedbank" and seed give-away events (video)
03/30 - Remember when that dude tried to sink the Belle of Louisville? (article)
03/31 - Backyard Biodiversity: Purple Dead Nettle - pollinator plant (article)
April
04/01 - Backyard Biodiversity: Spicebush - pollinator plant (article)
04/01 - Social Distancing at Shelby Park with Chip Rogalinski (video)
04/02 - Backyard Biodiversity in Smoketown [Part 1] (video)
04/04 - Backyard Biodiversity in Smoketown [Part 2] (video)
04/05 - Cloning trees from cuttings (video)
04/06 - Tree Cutting and cloning Tips & Tricks (video)
04/06 - Why is the Mountain Dulcimer the official instrument of Kentucky? (article)
04/08 - State of the Alley: Finzer - Mason [Smoketown, Louisville] (video)
04/11 - Redbud Tree - cool seed pods & edible flowers (video)
04/13 - Rod Ferrell: leader of the deadly 'Kentucky Vampire Clan' (article)
04/20 - Newport, Kentucky's World Peace Bell (article)
04/26 - the Ephemeral Wetlands of the Beargrass Creek Nature Preserve (video)
04/27 - Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road (article)
May
05/04 - Why we chose the Sunflower as the 'Isolation Vacation' symbol (article)
05/17 - Awkward Maps: Just how Connected IS Louisville, KY? (article/video)
05/20 - Robert Bell for Louisville Metro Council D4 Candidate interview (video)
05/30 - Birds on the Beargrass: Northern Cardinal (video)
05/31 - Birds on the Beargrass: Common Grackle (video)
June
06/01 - Birds on the Beargrass: Northern Mockingbird (video)
06/01 - Birds on the Beargrass: Mourning Dove (video)
July
In lieu of content, we were educating ourselves about the racial injustice in our city, watching peaceful protests day after day in the wake of Breonna Taylor's killing. This was an extremely transformative month both for our understanding of the world, and the values of Beargrass Thunder as a whole.
August
08/01 - Beargrass Thunder featured on 'Reimagining the Public Commons' (audio)
08/02 - Roland Street Alley project update (video)
08/30 - Louisville Waterfront Botanical Gardens: One Year Later (video): While shooting the video, Mariah surprised Jody with a proposal - he said YES! Congrats, guys!
September
09/10 - Awkward Maps: Underappreciated Alleys & Problematic Transit (video)
09/10 - Awkward Maps: Louisville - West End/East End Disconnect (video)
09/10 - Awkward Maps: Louisville - Heading South from the Ohio River (video)
09/14 - Awkward Maps: Connecting Neighborhoods with Alleys and Transit (video)
09/14 - Awkward Maps: Louisville - East End Roads vs West End Roads (video)
09/19 - Change Today Change Tomorrow's new location & future plans (video)
09/20 - Smoketown Neighborhood Association Presentation (video)
09/23 - Breonna's Roots' garden and Injustice Square memorials (video)
09/23 - Beargrass Thunder featured on Louisville Protest livestream (video)
October
10/01 - SpooKY: Tortured Child's Revenge & The Watcher of Pilot's Knob (audio)
10/07 - SpooKY: The Twin Train Tunnels of Lambs Ferry Road (audio)
10/17 - SpooKY: The Goatman Monster of Pope Lick (audio)
10/20 - Awkward Maps: Bowling Green (video)
10/28 - Falls City Community Bikeworks aids public amidst pandemic (video)
November
11/04 - Roland Street Alley Project: Autumn Update (video)
11/05 - "Beargrass Alley": how to improve a space by listening to nature (video)
11/19 - Beargrass Thunder featured on Roots101: African American Museum (video)
December
12/13 - Beargrass Thunder's first ever native seed giveaway! (event)
12/17 - Shirley Mae's Cafe - Beargrass Thunder Food Review (video)
12/30 - House Wren: Birds on the Beargrass (video)
We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all of the support we've gotten throughout the year. Because of our fans, we were able to put out more than 50 articles and videos about topics that are important to us. Being able to safely put on our first ever official event, giving away hundreds of seeds to be planted along the Beargrass Creek watershed feels so good.
Beargrass Thunder has a lot of plans for 2021 including working with the Louisville Seedbank Project to make seeds available and accessible for residents while fighting food scarcity, hosting more native seed giveaways and other events, as well as continue producing Kentucky-centric content to help you improve your neighborhood and local ecosystem.
Speaking of which, starting this week, we are beginning to produce EXCLUSIVE content for our supporters on Patreon. for those out of the loop, Patreon is a platform that allows fans to support their favorite online creators like Beargrass Thunder. For a monthly subscription fee as low as $3 a month, you can gain access to exclusive vlogs, behind the scenes videos, and other unique opportunities such as voting and suggesting video subjects, accessing exclusive merchandise or VIP tickets.
If you value the content we make, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Right now we're all working day-jobs to pay the bills and pay for the equipment and supplies needed to keep this going (although we hope that will soon change!). Thanks again to everyone for everything; we're just happy to be here doing what we do, and making the world a better place for everyone!
Here's to a new year!
-Team Beargrass Thunder
