Agenda

Saint John’s Arboretum Advisory Council Meeting

Monday, May 12, 2003

Room 150 New Science Building, Saint John’s University

 10:30 Community Education Committee meeting – Room 150

Upcoming Program Opportunities:

June 12th - Gardening with Native Plants

Summer? Janette & Ron - Sprit of the Trees and Native Edibles

Oct 5th - Folksmarsch

Oct 11th - Woodland Owner’s Conference

Bill Holm

Labyrinths

Others

 11:30 – 12:30 Tour of the recent burn for oak regeneration (optional, meet by the pendulum in the New Science Center)

12:30 Lunch (optional, meet at Arboretum office or Refectory)

1:15 – 2:15 PR/Membership and Fundraising committees meet together – Room 150

Arboretum Brochure upgrade

Membership sales packet

Magazine follow-up – Next steps

Advertisement in SJU Basketball and Football programs

Advertisement in CSB Sports / Events programs

Oct 3, 4, 5 Homecoming

Booth? Free Raffle Prize? (E.g. memberships, coat?) Youth event?

Christmas party

Upgrade maple syruping operation to "Licensed Food Grade."

2:15- 2:30 Refreshments 150 New Science, Natural History Museum

2:30 Meeting    

Invocation – Fr. Kulas

Welcome - Scott May

Introduce 4 new members of the Council – Tom Kroll

3:00 Updates / Discussion / Decisions by Committee Topic (see attached Committee Updates)

1) K-12 Education

2nd & 3rd grade teaching kits

MN Worm Watch workshop

 

2) CSB/SJU Education

Design Refectory "Food for Thought" cases.

3) Community Education

See above list

4) PR/ Membership

See above list

5) Fundraising

Grants – (see attached Committee Updates)

6) Lands

Hills of Avon Landscape Planning

Chapel Trail Upgrade (Prep school Runoff-Pond repair)

7) Program Administration and Volunteers

Set orientation date for new Council members

5:00 Other business. Assign committee tasks and set meeting dates.

5:10 Closing

Committee Updates – for May 12, 2003

K-12 Education

· Teaching Kit presentation to Minnesota Science Teachers Association (MSTA)

· 2nd & 3rd grade teaching kits

· Rain day alternatives

CSB/SJU Education

· Service Learning panel participant (March 28th)

· Service Learning – to speak with incoming 1st year students at Afton State Park about Environmental issues and Benedictine Stewardship

· Set up partnership with O.L.C. for co-sponsoring outdoor student activities

o Fruit at the Finish Triathlon (April 26th) 176 participants

· Beginning partnership with Peer Resource Program to coordinate outdoor student activities

· Benedictine Stewardship talks with S. Phyllis Plantenburg (2 classes of 15 students)

· 20 Students helped with prescribed burns.

· 30 Students helped with Maple syruping.

· Fall Orientation – hope to be a significant participant by exposing 100% of incoming 1st year students to the Arboretum

Community Education

· Owl Hoot (40 attended.)

· Maple Syrup Days (550 attended. Excellent weather, organization, and public response.)

· Woodland Wildflower Walk (35 attended. Thanks Ron.)

Public Relations and Membership Benefits

· Good coverage of Maple Syrup day by local outlets

· Membership from direct mailing to Alums – still coming in

· Membership – 250 current members as of April 15th  

· Newsletter topics in the works: Regional geology; Profile of Ron Wienhold; Invasive earthworms; Volunteer corner; Current lands projects update

Fundraising

· DNR grants (oak savanna and teaching trunks) – waiting to hear from DNR, will send out applications shortly.

· Xcel – waiting to hear from them, should know by end of the week.

· Other – working on applying for grants to several other organizations: Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation; SuperValu; Ecolab; Butler Family Foundation

Lands

· Completed 30 acres of prescribed burns.

· Completed logging for 2003. Mostly on salvage sales and thinning.

· 5,000 seedlings ordered for May 2003. (Red oak, white pine, tamarack, white spruce.)

Program Administration and Volunteer Management

· The volunteer effort and coordination at the Maple Syrup Saturdays was fantastic. Thank you notes have been sent out.

 · Volunteer coordination for Plant Sale is in progress.