By Howard Whiteman
Murray State University
Jogging along a country road near my house, I stopped suddenly, staring at the treasure just off the asphalt. It takes a lot to stop my run completely — I time myself, even if I am slower than winter molasses. But I could not pass up a shed antler.
It was only a 3-point, but it was fresh, with ever-so-slightly dried blood on the bases. That buck had dropped his antler on the side of the road the night before, maybe. Like many of us, I love antlers, and would never pass one by.
The antler was not only a fun find, it was another sign of the start of spring. Like the daffodils and spring beauties, the evening calls of peepers and chorus frogs, the new birds arriving every day, morning gobbles from the woods, and yes, even some allergies, spring is here, and it cannot come fast enough.
Every spring, new growth emerges between a buck’s ears, preparing for the future.
Like those newly growing antlers, many of us are getting ready for our annual Four Rivers Watershed Sustainability Festival, which we hope also helps prepare us for the days ahead.
Murray State’s Watershed Studies Institute (WSI), Hancock Biological Station, and Doran Arboretum, along with multiple departments and colleges on campus, the Riverlands Alliance, the City of Murray, and so many regional organizations and companies that we begin to lose count have created an amazing collaborative celebration among groups that are all focused, in one way or another, on the environment.
Just like spring, celebrating the environment cannot come fast enough: there are many threats affecting our world right now. In the end, none of us can live without a healthy environment. The fragility of our planet is plain for all of us to see in the recent photos from the Artemis. Just like the original Apollo missions, those photographs show our only home as a big blue marble in the emptiness of space, a sliver of life in an otherwise (as far as we know) empty universe. Keeping that home healthy, for all of us, is our only way forward.
Celebrating that life — and the things we can do to keep our planet going — is the whole point of the Watershed Festival, and this year’s version will not disappoint. All of the events are open to the public, and updates can be found on the WSI Facebook page.
The Festival starts on Saturday, April 11, when the MSU student chapters of The Wildlife Society and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers will hold their annual Beast Feast from 5-7 p.m. at Central Park in Murray. Expect normal wild fare—like deer, squirrel, and catfish, but also the exotic — perhaps some bison, elk, or feral hog.
Next up is the WSI Research Symposium, on Wednesday, April 15 from 8 a..m.-2 p.m.in the Barkley Room of Murray State’s Curris Center. The WSI Research Symposium is an opportunity to learn about the wonderful environmental research that Murray State undergraduate and graduate students have been doing over the past year, and ask a few questions as well.
That same week, on April 16 and 18, there are two showings of a Cinema International movie, Rachel Carson, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 208 of Murray State’s Faculty Hall. Rachel Carson is a PBS documentary about the life of this amazing biologist and author of Silent Spring, the book that turned the tide in our use of DDT and other pesticides, and set the stage for the restoration of our national symbol, the bald eagle, among many other species.
Earth Week is even busier. On Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, Murray State’s Earth and Environmental Science department is hosting a campus celebration on the MSU quad from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., including booths and activities from many environmentally-related groups.
On Thursday, April 23, the winners of the Nature Art Competition will be announced at a reception at the Atrium of the Logan Biology Building, which begins at 4 p.m. The finalists for competition, which is sponsored by the Departments of Biological Science and Art & Design, the Murray Art Guild, and WSI, will be on display in Atrium starting on April 10.
Later that Thursday evening, WSI’s 2nd Annual Maggie Morgan Science Café will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Big Apple, where we will be presenting the Maggie Morgan Watershed Sustainability Award to an environmental champion, followed by a discussion with Bradly Robbins about feral hog management on LBL.
Finally, our month-long festival will go out with a bang on Saturday, April 25, with an Earth Day Celebration from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Doran Arboretum. There is a plant sale, tree giveaway, and kite festival along with the usual mix of booths and activities, including “goats at work,” watershed models, live reptiles and amphibians, electric and hybrid vehicles, gardening tips, and more. Pizza lunch will be available for purchase. That evening, Kentucky Backcountry Hunters and Anglers will close the festival with a Turkey Talk event at the Big Apple from 6-9 p.m., where people can learn more about turkey hunting, conservation, and management.
The antlers of 2025 are gone. Spring is about rebirth, and what better way to celebrate it then by reconnecting, so we can all grow together, just like those velvety nubs on a whitetail buck.
All of these different groups and events are coming together because everyone realizes the importance of our environment, and how it is a key to the future of our planet and our species. I hope you will join me in our celebration and our continued efforts to promote, protect, and restore our environment.
Dr. Howard Whiteman is the Commonwealth Endowed Chair of Environmental Studies, Director of Watershed Studies Institute and an environmental advocate at Murray State University. He is a columnist for the NKyTribune.