The work of the Bonnycastle Homestead Association is to celebrate and strengthen the Bonnycastle neighborhood through a variety of initiatives that build community and connection. The BHA hosts regular social events, and spearheads initiatives that address sustainability, beauty, safety and service. The BHA also represents neighborhood initiatives and needs to local government and on the District 8 Advisory Council. It is a point of connection for neighbors, providing information on all of the above. Board meetings are held monthly and are open to all residents.
If you haven't already, it's easy to join or renew!
Click the button below, log in or create your free Membership Toolkit online account, then pay for your 2023-24 membership.
Why should you or your business become a member?
- Support your neighborhood volunteers
- Access to online directory and archived newsletters
- Tree Discounts and free tree planting and/or lessons
- Be the first to know about neighborhood events
- Free or discounted entry to events
Need to check your membership status? Click the "Membership" tab above, then "My Account" to see if your membership is active/paid.
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Council District 8 Candidate Forum
The District 8 Advisory Board and the League of Women Voters, Louisville (LWV) is holding a Metro Council District 8 Candidate Forum. Both candidates are confirmed.
When: Tuesday, October 10, 2023, from 6:30 pm-7:30 pm; doors open at 6 pm.
Where: The Community Room of the Douglass Community Church, 2305 Douglass Blvd. This forum will be livestreamed.
The District 8 Advisory Board represents all 23 neighborhood associations in District 8 and the LWV is known for its candidate forums and voter initiatives.
Both groups are non-partisan.
The questions will come from the LWV and selected members of the District Advisory Board. The questions will only be known at the event. While there will be no questions taken from the audience, there will be an opportunity after the event for the audience to talk with the candidates.
Gail Henson Honi Marleen Goldman
League of Women Voters, Louisville Chair, District 8 Advisory Board
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Are you a tree lover?
We love our neighborhood tree canopy and have worked hard over the years to sustain it. We are once again hosting a fall tree planting. Learn more about our BHA tree initiative by going to the “initiatives” tab above. Questions? Email Alison Cromer at Alison.cromer@ymail.com.
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Century Plaque
Century Plaque sales are now open for 2023! Is your home over 100 years old? The cast bronze plaque will help commemorate the deep history of our neighborhood, and proudly display your home's contribution to Bonnycastle's architectural heritage.
Please order by September 30th. The first orders will receive plaques quickly, and later orders will be created by a local foundry later in the year.
Click here to order your Century Plaque
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Join Us for the Next Neighborhood Night!
Check back for the next one in October.
Please rsvp to eileenpeterson0405@gmail.com to let us know how many to expect. Hope to see you all then!
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Enhance BHA’s Canopy by Sponsoring a Tree!
BHA partnered with the city in early 2023 to plant 90 trees in the easements along our streets. In accordance with the city’s guidelines, tree species were selected for best long-term success with smaller, understory trees planted under electrical lines and larger, canopy trees planted where they have room to spread out.
Although the city donated the trees, each retailing for $400+, BHA covered the cost of getting them planted. Despite generous donations from BHA residents we are still a bit short. In addition, some of the trees didn’t make it through the winter and need to be replaced this fall.
Please give some thought to the impact 90 trees will have on our streets over the coming decades and consider making a donation below.
$150 - Tree Hero
$100 - Canopy Champion
$50 - Arbor Advocate
Other
Thank you.
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Bonnycastle Homestead Association
Board Meeting
October 10 at 7:00 p.m. Bonnycastle Homestead Association Board Meeting at the Commodore, 2140 Bonnycastle Avenue. Open to all.
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Bonnycastle has actively worked to plant trees throughout the neighborhood. Did you get a tree? It should have a plastic watering bag around it. Please water your trees to ensure they stay hydrated (just like us)! It's especially important this first summer.
Metro is making a list of trees that did not leaf out and will replace them this fall.
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Taking care of young trees in the Parking Strip
Have you had a young tree planted between the sidewalk and street? Those trees need a little bit of care, besides watering, for a long and healthy life. As we all want shade, we want those trees to grow as tall and straight as possible. To achieve that, the lower limbs need to be removed so that the growth of the tree is up. This is called “limbing-up,” and as our trees go into winter dormancy, we’re coming into prime pruning time for this tree care.
Limbs don’t grow “up” with the tree - they grow outward. So if a limb is at the same height as your car, it’s always going to be at that height. Limbs below 7 or 8 feet up the trunk should be removed with a sharp pruning tool, flush with the trunk, once the tree has gone dormant. (After the leaves fall and before they leaf out in the spring.)
This allows room for cars to park and people can get in and out of the cars. It reduces damage to the tree from cars and delivery vehicles. It also makes walking down the sidewalks a lot more pleasant if tree branches aren’t slapping you in the face!
Depending on how many lower limbs your tree has, the process of limbing-up may need to be prolonged over several years. You should leave at least two-thirds of the crown intact with each pruning. In other words, don’t remove more than ⅓ of the limbs in your pruning. Many of the trees in our easements need only a branch or two removed, others that have been allowed to get quite bushy will need more.
As the tree gets taller and fuller, having a professional with the proper equipment cut off the limbs is best for the tree, and that creates the tall canopy that is so desirable.
As the BHA has been working to create a strong shade canopy for the neighborhood, this small bit of neighborly attention to our trees can really go a long way in keeping our precious trees healthy.
If you have young trees that need some trimming and you aren’t able or don’t have the tools, I am happy to help. You can send me an email and we’ll arrange a time to meet and I’ll bring my pruners. tomese.buthod@gmail.com
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VOLUNTEER
It's a great habit to cultivate in youth and a vital way to serve the community. Whether you volunteer on your own, with members of your family, friends, or a group, there are so many ways to serve. You can get ideas from The United Way or the following are usually youth-friendly. Links are provided in blue to take you to volunteer opportunities.
Dare to Care Dare to Care partners with local social service agencies, such as food pantries, shelters and emergency kitchens to distribute food to our community. In 2022 Dare to Care and our partners provided 21.7 million meals to our community. You can sort cans at Fern Valley Road, help in the Community Kitchen, or serve in many ways through their food panties, including our own Highlands Community Ministries.
Franciscan Kitchen (daily serves 400-600 people for lunch) 748 S Preston St, Louisville, KY 40203
Supplies Over Seas 1500 Arlington Av 40206. 9-3 Reclaims medical supplies and sends them to places in US and abroad. Great short-term opportunities.
Gilda's Club 2440 Grinstead Drive. Many ways for people of all ages to support people in their cancer journey.
Kentucky Humane Society can use helping hands in many ways at their various locations.
Olmsted Conservancy invites volunteers to help restore woodlands, keep trees and waterways healthy, and bring new life to playgrounds and recreational areas in the Olmsted Parks. You can work with special events or work with the Olmsted Junior Steward (high school) and Steward Program. They provide gloves, tools and guidance. Participants just need to dress for the weather and getting dirty!
Catholic Charities Immigrants & Refugees Services: Many ways to serve! 16+ in age. Airport pick up, apartment set up, sorting donated items on Saturday, helping with English as a Second Language, summer literacy camps for children and youth.
Kentucky Refugee Ministries: Many ways to serve for people 16+. Delivering fresh produce, language instruction, assist with summer programs, and more.
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District 8 Advisory Council Meetings
The last Monday of each month, the District 8 Advisory Council meets at 7:00 p.m. in the Highland-Shelby Park Library.
The Advisory Council consists all of the neighborhood associations, as well as representatives of constituent groups like Highlands Community Ministries, the Library, Bellarmine, and Highlands Commerce Guild. The Advisory Council works closely with our District 8 Metro Council member on matters of particular importance to all District 8 residents and businesses.
These meetings are open to all.
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METRO RCS UNVEILS ONLINE DATA DASHBOARD
User-friendly, public resource offers quick access to important information
Louisville, KY. The Louisville Office of Resilience and Community Services (RCS) has created a new tool for tracking its work. The new online data dashboard provides one-click access to a trove of information, including details about housing stability, utility assistance, volunteerism, financial empowerment, and the many programs and services administered by RCS.
The dashboard offers sets of numbers and statistics that can be broken down – or sliced – into different categories. For example, the dashboard for the Housing Referral List can be sliced by the age, race, gender, and veteran status of the applicants. And the dashboard for the popular Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can be sliced according to geographic location, date range, and which phase of LIHEAP clients have received. These tools will allow users to track the outcomes of various RCS services and programs over time.
“These numbers tell stories,” said RCS Director Tameka Laird. “Stories of the many people, from all walks of life, who we serve every single day. Their experiences and their courage are reflected in the data we’ve collected and put on display for the public through this dashboard. Transparency is so important for every government agency but especially for RCS, which works with so many of our community’s most vulnerable people. We believe this data highlights the many needs in our community and tracks our effectiveness in meeting those needs.”
The data dashboard is a key part of the RCS 2022-23 Strategic Plan, which places a high priority on using improved data collection practices in order to “build a resilient community by … using the total value of our data to understand community needs, oversee program performance, and inform decision-making.” The dashboard is a major step toward the overall strategic goal of creating a new, comprehensive data framework to support and inform agency goals and objectives.
The data dashboard was created by RCS Junior Data Analyst Erynn Moss, in conjunction with the Louisville Metro Data Governance Team, with the goal of fostering public transparency.
“It’s the culmination of more than a year of work,” said Moss. “It was our goal to integrate all of this data and put it into a format that is both pleasing to the eye and easy to access.”
RCS invites the community to experiment with this dashboard, and use the available tools to learn more about the work that we do. Be sure to bookmark the page and check back on it quarterly, as we intend to keep it updated as new information becomes available.
The new RCS data dashboard can be viewed via the main RCS website – https://louisvilleky.gov/
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Buy a Bonnycastle T-Shirt!
In an effort to support our neighborhood businesses, we have made licensing arrangements to allow Dirty Tease to print and sell clothing with our official BHA logo. (At this time, Dirty Tease is the only person that BHA has authorized and licensed to print or sell any item with our BHA logo.) You can buy unisex short-sleeved T-shirts through this link: https://www.dirtytease.net/t-shirts/bonnycastle — simply click on the design, and select color and size. Before checking out, be sure to select the option “Pickup” if you want to avoid shipping costs. Women’s fitted T-shirts, children’s sizes, hoodies, and additional clothing options are available in the store. You can even try them on first! Or bring your own solid T-shirt to be printed on. Dirty Tease is located at 1551 Bardstown Road, and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. through 6 p.m.
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Welcome to the Bonnycastle Homestead Association
If you live in the Bonnycastle neighborhood, be sure to subscribe to our communications. If you don't already have a BHA account, you will need to create one, or simply email us and let us know that you wish to receive our communications. There is no charge to create an account. Only paid members will be able to take advantage of member-only features such as newsletter archive, online directory, and discounted trees.
We hope you will become a member. By paying your membership dues each year, you will support the BHA board volunteers who work hard to make this a great neighborhood. Annual membership dues are very inexpensive ($20 per family or $10 per individual or $25 for business).
The Bonnycastle Homestead area is a part of Louisville's Highlands, between Bardstown Road and Cherokee Park, and between Eastern Parkway and Speed Avenue. Built up during the late 1800s through the early 1900s, and experiencing some decline in the 1950's and 1960's, the neighborhood is now alive and prospering. Residents are happy with their tree- shaded streets, their graceful older homes, their closeness to the cultural offerings of downtown, and the friendly atmosphere. The neighborhood is vitalized by a diversity of ages and occupations. In recent years, this has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Louisville; property values are rising, and houses sell rapidly.
The Bonnycastle neighborhood boundaries are defined by Bardstown Road, Eastern Parkway, Cherokee Road, and Speed Avenue, as pictured in brown region of map below:
(image taken from https://www.ctbplan.com/ - Cherokee Triangle & Bonnycastle Neighborhoods Plan)
