Minutes

Minutes of the Arboretum Advisory Council

February 9, 1998

Members Present: Dr. Gordon Brown, Mr. Gary Deason, Mrs. Nancy Diedrich, Mrs. Dorothy Johnson, Fr. John Kulas, Mr. Scott May, Ms. Janette Monear,

Mr. Peter Olin, Fr. Paul Schwietz, Chair.

Members Absent: Tom Kroll, Dr. Cheryl Knox, Mrs. Sarah Pruett, Mr. Ron Weinholt, Mr.Gordon Bailey.

Also present as facilitator of the meeting was Mrs. Linda Marrin.

Meeting Summary: The December 1, 1997 meeting minutes and the Mission/Vision statements were approved. The strategies and action plans of the three committees were reviewed, discussed, and prioritized.

Mission/Vision Statements. The only change made was the addition of "inner" to the statement "to sustain the evolving non-native environment of the inner campus." This change was a result of the consensus that the inner campus is the primary place where non-native species are sustained. The council voted in favor of both statements. If there are future comments about wording, Father John Kulas agreed to handle these concerns.

Management and Restoration

The primary focus of the action plan for the Management committee is to define what each area of the Abbey lands means to the Arboretum. The resources of each area will help to define how to attain the optimal use of the area while keeping with the management purposes stated in the mission/vision statements. The designation of certain areas for specific purposes is vital to the future planning of the arboretum. For instance, the problem of overuse in certain areas may become a problem as more and more visitors come. Thus, areas that should be undisturbed for scientific or management purposes should not be placed along major trails, etc. The first major concern of this committee at this point is to designate areas for the management plan, from least managed to intensively managed in four distinct categories.

Finances and Public Relations

The primary focus of the Finances committee is to determine how much money is actually needed for the Arboretum programs. The sources of revenue then can be explored. The Arboretum will look to the institution for a greater commitment, "to get things off the ground".

A membership to the Arboretum should be in place by the next meeting. The committee is thinking of a kick-off at Homecoming next year. Membership will help financially and with public relations. The people that should be targeted to become members or "friends" of the Arboretum still needs to be researched.

Board Contributions and Endowments also need to be examined. Most primarily there needs to be a call to contribute to the Arboretum.

The use of the Arboretum brochure as a "call to action" was discussed. It was suggested that fourth flap of the brochure would focus on this call for donations and membership.

Homepage

The homepage is up and running at www.csbsju.edu/landmgmt/. Committee members were pleased with its appearance but suggested more links to various other pages, such as the AABGA for more information. The arboretum homepage could also include a "Friend site" with a similar purpose.

Education Committee:

The education committee is looking at the possibility of a college level environmental class and a camp for grade/high school children focused on the arboretum grounds. The camp would most probably be a part of the Prep School summer camp program.

The education department also explored fundraising tactics, such as a "gift shop" and questioned how money raised for the arboretum is tracked through the University. The committee is looking at meeting with area teachers on March 26. We should invite Karen Van Norman, with SNAP, to this meeting and pursue a connection with the June meeting of science teachers.

Future Planning and Organization

Linda set up a system that should be used by all the committees so that the information gained in each committee is useful and organized for the arboretum council. The system will make certain that all the groups are working and organized in the same fashion. This system accounts for every goal, the action to be taken, who is involved, the resources needed, people that need to be checked off, and the target date.

Next Meeting--April 6

Future Arboretum Council Meetings for the year:

June 1; August 2, October 5; December 7

Each committee will meet outside of these dates.

Respectfully submitted:

John Geissler