Carleton’s Regional Carls Program

Upper Arboretum Community Service Project

Saturday, October 6, 2007 (Carleton’s Homecoming)

10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Join us in helping with a community project titled “The Buckthorn Menace”.

The Buckthorn Menace, a large scale sculpture installation by artist Jim Proctor, pursues a novel alliance between art and environmental restoration by rendering the wood and roots of the invasive plant species buckthorn into forms resembling gargantuan dandelions in full seed. Constructed on the site of two buckthorn infested areas in Northfield—one in “The Upper Arb” of the Cowling Arboretum and one down slope from the new Science Center at St. Olaf College—this installation is part of a wider community education effort to raise public awareness about the environmental damage caused by buckthorn and other invasive plant species in Minnesota’s natural landscapes and wilderness areas.

The installation will stand for a full year to allow viewing over the four seasons. It will be dismantled in October 2008, and the site landscapes restored by the planting of indigenous trees and shrubs.

There are many other times and dates to help with the project if you can’t attend on October 6. Please visit http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/gallery/buckthornand click on “volunteer” to see dates and times and to sign up.