What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1466421
"That's just part of a folk musician's job is to be valuable in the community, and we like doing that sort of thing," Donna adds. Before the pandemic, Donna says that they had begun work on a "Words on Birds" concert, but they were only able to perform it a couple of times. "It had a lot to do with the unveiling of Audubon statistics on declining bird populations," Kelly explains. He says that a report from the organization showed that bird populations had decreased by a third in the last 50 years. "So part of our motivation in doing the bird show was to raise awareness to that. So some of the songs list endangered birds, or it has an environmental angle." "But we didn't want it to be depressing," Donna interjects. "We didn't want to leave people bummed out after the show!" Kelly picks up the conversation with a laugh, saying that's "not a good tactic for an artist." The Words on Birds show will be one of the first performances by Still on the Hill in the last two years. "We're just starting to wake up again and do things, which is really fun," Donna says. "Brush ourselves off," Kelly adds. The duo recently played an Earth Day show and an "early birding day" show. This summer they are planning to perform their songs about the Buffalo River for its 50th anniversary. Kelly adds that they also plan to sing their songs at rural schools over the spring and summer, which ties into their mission to educate the next generation about being good stewards of the environment — a cause near to their hearts and the purpose of the Arkansas Audubon Society Halberg Ecology Camp. "Kelly and I have been teaching at Halberg Audubon Ecology Camp for 18 years. It's a week-long camp for 11- and 12-year-olds, and we teach the bird watching part of it," Donna explains. Held at Camp Clearfork near Hot Springs each June, it teaches campers about a variety of subjects including ornithology, aquatic biology, mammalogy, entomology, geology and herpetology from college and high school natural science teachers along with self- taught naturalists. Donna says she and Kelly want to raise money to give scholarships to kids who can't afford to go to the camp. "The goal of camp is to basically, hopefully, harvest a generation of children who are aware and concerned and prioritize the environment, and reconnecting them with the environment," Kelly adds. "Some of these kids have become disconnected since technology is so prevalent in their world. It takes time, and kind of just getting away from it, and just immersing themselves in a week of intensive non-technological activities. It's really good for kids." There will be a presentation about Halberg Audubon Ecology Camp during the May 7 event. Kelly says that the camp, like most organizations, was shut down by the pandemic and is experiencing some hardships. A donation jar will be available at the event to give it some financial help. A speaker with Northsong Wild Bird Rehabilitation will also give a talk that evening. Donna explains that the rescue group seeks to establish a bird rescue facility to aid in their mission to save raptors and other birds of prey. They will also have a donation jar set up at the event. The Chamber's Northwest Arkansas Spring Job Fair is the largest and longest running Job Fair in Arkansas and is FREE to Job Seekers. This is a great opportunity for businesses to get a jump start on hiring for the summer season as well as full-time employment opportunities. Availability will be on a first-come first-served basis so reserve your booth today to ensure access to many job seekers expected to attend. For more information or to register a booth visit www.RogersLowell.com JOB- SEEKERS Bring your resumes to hand out to potential employers MAY 4 th 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. FRISCO STATION MALL 100 N. DIXIELAND RD. IN ROGERS 4 WHAT'S UP! MAY 1-7, 2022 COVER STORY "Donna is, first of all, an incredibly prolific artist in so many ways. She is constantly making art and writing songs, and writing poems, and it just never stops," Kelly Mulhollan beams about his wife and musical partner, Donna Mulhollan. She will auction off her needle-felted birds May 7 to fund scholarships to the Halberg Audubon Camp to help kids connect with and learn about nature. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Monica Hooper) Birds Continued From Page 3