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Ramifications and precautions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented methods of fighting the disease, which has in effect shut down half of America. Many states, including Illinois, are under shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders. However, Danielle Kulina, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville environmental science graduate student and Watershed Nature Center educator, is inspiring people to venture out into their own yards and watch spring unfold. 

Kulina and Sheila Voss, Watershed Nature Center board member and SIUE alumna, are hoping people will participate in the Center’s campaign, “Nature's Not Cancelled.” Voss earned a master's in environmental science in 2002 from SIUE. 

“I know this is an interesting time, and people can get a little stir crazy being cooped up in the house all day,” said Kulina. “The Watershed Nature Center trails are still open, but all the Center-led programming has been put on hold. We were scheduled to have a Discovery Day on March 27 and upcoming fieldtrips, but all that has been cancelled. 

“Still, people can experience nature at the Center, or right outside their front door or in their backyards. Nature is not stopping. Spring is here.” 

Kulina and Voss launched the eight-week campaign on social media on Monday, March 23. Last week’s topic was migration, and frogs is this week’s topic. 

The campaign features weekly prompts and content designed for people of all ages:

• Mondays – Trivia! Go to Watershed Nature Center’s Facebook page and answer 10 trivia questions about the topic of the week.
• Wednesdays – Tune into the Center’s Facebook page and catch a live video about the subject of the week, and participate in a real-time question-and-answer session. The time of day changes depending on the topic. For instance, this week the Facebook Live event will occur at approximately 8 p.m., so viewers can hear frog calls. If you can’t watch live, each week’s video will be available all week.

• Fridays – Get ready to participate in a community challenge or activity to complete over the weekend. Participants are asked to post their project on social media and tag the Watershed Nature Center, using #NaturesNotCancelled.
• Weekly – There will be a random drawing of those who participated in the trivia quiz. Winner(s) will receive Watershed Nature Center swag and be notified through email.    

“Last week went extremely well,” said Kulina, who has a bachelor’s from Indiana University Bloomington in elementary education, with a concentration in math and science education. “In the video about migration and citizen science, we explained that you don’t need a degree in biology or have to be a botanist to gather and collect data or record your findings. In just two days, that one video had more than 1,000 views. 

“So far, we have received a lot of comments from parents who are thrilled that the campaign is giving their children something to do. I also had a teacher offer her appreciation for the campaign. That was also exciting to me, because being able to help teachers with e-learning is a big plus.” 

Kulina shared some numbers from the first week of campaign that underscored its popularity. While 50% of quiz participants lived in Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, people from St. Louis, Chicago, and as far away as Florida, participated. The campaign’s first Friday Weekend Project video reached 1,825 people. 

“It’s nice that we can help parents, children and educators in the Metro East,” remarked Kulina. “But we’re hoping to reach as many people as possible, and help them get through these challenging times.” 

The Nature’s Not Cancelled challenge runs from Monday, March 23-Friday, May 22. For more information, visit the Watershed Nature Center’s Facebook page or watershednaturecenter.org.  

Photos:  
Danielle Kulina, SIUE environmental science graduate student and Watershed Nature Center educator, helped create the Nature is Not Cancelled campaign to get people out of their homes and into nature.

Shown is a bloodroot flower from Kulina’s backyard in Lebanon.