Volunteer Buckthorn Bust

Residents Team To Vanquish Invasives

STILLWATER, MINNESOTA (2020 Dec 5) — Eighteen citizen volunteers from Sustainable Stillwater MN donned masks, grabbed their clippers, and marshaled their determination to tackle the invasive buckthorn at Lily Lake Park in Stillwater on Saturday, Dec. 5. After several hours of work in the cold, fortified by apple cider and popcorn, volunteers left a pile of buckthorn for the city to remove. Buckthorn is considered an invasive species because it forms dense stands that dominate ecosystems and displace native species. City and county efforts to eradicate the plants have been thwarted by its fast growth and tenacity.

Led by Dan MacSwain, Washington County natural resources coordinator, and Louise Watson, Sustainable Stillwater MN natural resources workgroup lead, the volunteers represent a growing number of folks willing to pitch in and maintain their own community’s natural areas. The “Buckthorn Bust” was also coordinated with the Lily Lake Association.

The Sustainable Stillwater MN Natural Resources Work Group is funded by the Friends of Stillwater Parks and other private donors. Its volunteers are also keeping cigarette butts out of the St. Croix River; maintaining rain gardens around the city, and creating educational and maintenance activities along Browns Creek Trail.

---

SUSTAINABLE STILLWATER MN is a 501c3 nonprofit Minnesota corporation engaged in creating a greener, more sustainable and more resilient city. Contact: Louise Watson, 651-230-7882, or Wendy Gorski, 612-244-1560, communications, sustainablestillwatermn@gmail.com