Our Most Important Work

This summer, the Simon Lake BioBlitz brought fifty people together to catalogue the biodiversity of prairie life on land managed as the Sheep Berry Fen Preserve and on adjacent land managed by a grass-fed cattle farmer. Altogether, the volunteers noted numerous key plant/animal species catalogued to track changes in the prairie ecosystem as they emerge from both land management systems.
This summer, the Simon Lake BioBlitz brought fifty people together to catalogue the biodiversity of prairie life on land managed as the Sheep Berry Fen Preserve and on adjacent land managed by a grass-fed cattle farmer. Altogether, the volunteers noted numerous key plant/animal species catalogued to track changes in the prairie ecosystem as they emerge from both land management systems.

On a warm July morning, the prairie bursts with the excited voices of children.  Even shy kids can’t hold back.  Little explorers, scientists, poets and artists vie for the attention of teachers and mentors while the adults, still kids at heart, are just as excited about this day’s adventure.  A new world lives all around them, as green rolling prairie spreads in all directions.  On this journey of discovery, a new generation of conservationists is born, taught by patient elders to value and protect the rare landscape found right beneath their feet.  This was the Simon Lake BioBlitz. 

Introducing the next generation to conservation is Our Most Important Work.

We never want to become a pest, the invasive species in your life, but we need your help – money to do this work.   While we have been lucky to have ongoing support for our major programs, money to connect with young kids and high school and college students is harder to come by – and the 2014-2015 program year is just starting!

Education & Leadership

Your September donation of $30 will help us carry on Our Most Important Work, because not having the financial resources to reach out to young people, to get them to unplug now and then, would end a CURE tradition that has brought hundreds of youth to value stewardship and join the conservation movement.

Young people outside

Putting your money to good use, we will continue CURE’s tradition of introducing our youngest to a world of bugs, bass, and beavers; of challenging high school kids to write essays in the Aldo Leopold tradition; of training college students to lead conservation work as advocates and organizers and of providing early work experience through summer internships at CURE.

No contribution is too small.

Gneiss SNA Outcrop Hike, Summer 2013
Gneiss SNA Outcrop Hike, Summer 2013

$30 sponsors a child for a year and covers your individual membership for a year.

If you are not already a member, a good way to connect kids to nature is to join our organization with a Family Membership of $45, which will link you and your family to our programs and events, like the Simon Lake BioBlitz.

And if you can afford a larger contribution to support Our Most Important Work, you should know that members who donate to CURE year after year give, on average, $100 annually.

**All membership renewals will add one full year to your membership.  And during September, all renewals, new memberships, and donations of any size will be listed as sponsors of CURE’s Most Important Work.

Finally, something we cannot say often enough is Thank YouThank You for coming out to CURE events. Thank You for volunteering throughout the year. Thank You for saying good things about our work.  And Thank You, especially, for your financial support – the money we need to do Our Most Important Work.

Donate to our most important work
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Kelsey Olson

Kelsey Olson

Director of Environmental Stewardship

Kelsey Olson (she/her) joined CURE in 2025 as its Director of Environmental Stewardship. As a skilled environmental naturalist, Kelsey’s work focuses broadly on environmental education and advocacy with a keen focus on rural land use and how that use impacts our environment and climate. Working Lands, how land is used to support agriculture and forestry, is a key focus of her work. She brings 15 years’ experience in public communication, environmental education, and rural community engagement – strong communication strategies are core in her work. This includes two terms of service with AmeriCorps in the VISTA program in Oregon and Maryland and a nearly 10-year career as a naturalist followed. She recently worked on communications and marketing for rural economic development.

Kelsey lives in New London, MN, with her young children, husband, dog, and two cats. They enjoy spending time together outside and finding small treasures in nature. Visits to Minneapolis often include visits to one of their favorite historical museums, the Minnesota Swedish Institute. Kelsey enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, whether this is canning local produce, making kombucha, or other treats!