By Bernheim
Inviting Nature, Data and Play into Shared Spaces, presented by LASER Louisville: a Leonardo/ISAST In-Person Rendezvous Event
The Louisville LASER Talk, Inviting Nature, Data and Play into Shared Spaces, on Sunday, July 19 brings together three perspectives on coexistence, resilience, and human nature. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. and will be held at MaybeItsFate, located at 1425 Story Ave in Louisville, Ky.
Margaret Carreiro will kick off the afternoon event with a presentation titled “Neighborhood Adopt a Species.” Drawing on urban ecology and reconciliation ecology, Carreiro aims to show how residents can collaboratively share everyday spaces with other species, scaling conservation down to the neighborhood level.
While presenting “Data Democratization and Climate Action,” Dr. Fran Kremer will argue that making climate data accessible and understandable empowers individuals and communities to prepare for floods, wildfires, and heat.
Claude Stephens, director of the Children at Play Network at Bernheim Forest and Arboretum, will close with “Three Million Years of Play,” provocatively proposing Homo Ludens over Homo Sapiens, tracing how industrialization and commercialization eroded play and risk, and offering paths to restore it.
The event will be moderated by MaybeItsFate co-founders Rebecca Norton & Clare Hirn.
Speaker Bios
Claude Stephens is the director of Bernheim’s Children at Play Network which is focused on fostering the next generation of environmental stewards through play in nature. His background in evolutionary biology frames the way he approaches systems change by valuing play. He has helped design natural play environments regionally, nationally, and most recently for a national park in Brasilia Brazil. In 2025 Claude received an honorary doctorate in play from the International Play Association.
Fran Kremer is working now at the interface of science and the visual and performing arts, integrating these disciplines to bring a greater understanding of environmental and public health effects from climate change on individuals and communities. Until 2025, Dr. Kremer served as Senior Scientist with decades of experience in managing research to support the US Environmental Protection Agency policies and regulations examining impacts of contaminants on public health and the environment, leading multidisciplinary teams in developing innovative approaches for monitoring and controlling contaminants and anticipating climate change impacts on public health and the environment.
Margaret Carreiro, Professor emerita, UofL, is a plant and soil ecologist who has worked primarily in Urban and Suburban Ecology. She studies the impacts of cities and towns on natural areas and is also involved in restoration ecology. She is currently President of Louisville Chapter of Wild Ones and is the local organizer for iNaturalist’s City Nature Challenge in Louisville Metro, a biodiversity Bioblitz. Margaret is a cheerleader for our local native species and enjoys teaching people about the importance of nature in cities and how together we can sustain local species.
About Louisville LASER
The Louisville LASER program is a series of lectures and presentations on art, science, and technology-related projects and an affiliate of Leonardo/International Society for the Arts, Science and Technology (ISAST). Leonardo/ISAST LASER Talks is a program of international gatherings that bring artists, scientists, humanists and technologists together for informal presentations, performances and conversations with the wider public. The mission of LASER is to encourage contribution to the cultural environment of a region by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and opportunities for community building to over 50 cities and 5 continents worldwide.
About MaybeItsFate
MaybeItsFate is a Louisville-based and member-owned social collective and club. Our mission is to foster the conditions for emergence — the emergence of new connections, ideas, art, and opportunities — through spaces designed for anyone who desires to be plugged into the creative pulse of the city. The collective is a member-owned cooperative that fosters a physical space and virtual space to fulfill its mission. The physical space offers a public art gallery and a members-only salon. The virtual space offers access to ideas, art, events, and opportunities for members from anywhere.
