In April, there was an eight-acre fire in the Bennett-Johnson Prairie. But it wasn’t the Chanhassen Fire Department on the scene to put it out. It was the Arboretum’s Natural Resources team performing a prescribed prairie burn. After days of waiting for the right conditions — not too dry, not too wet and just enough wind — it was finally the perfect day to burn. Prescribed burns are an important part of prairie management, used to remove unwanted woody plants and make space for native prairie plants. It was my very first time participating in a prescribed burn, something I’d wanted to do since learning about them in high school. This was just one of the many incredible experiences I had while serving as a Minnesota GreenCorps member at the Arboretum.
Minnesota GreenCorps is an environmental professional development program run in collaboration with AmeriCorps and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The program places members at a host site where they serve full-time, working on a variety of environmental projects. Over the course of 17 successful program years, the program has had 599 members, serving at 256 host sites across our state.
GreenCorps’ goal is to strengthen communities through projects in four key environmental areas: Community Readiness and Outreach, Energy Conservation and Green Transportation, Waste Reduction and Recycling, and Stormwater and Forestry.
In 2025, the Arboretum applied to be a GreenCorps placement site for the first time; I am the first member placed at the Arboretum in its history. My service was centered around forestry topics, rotating between three teams in the Horticulture department: arboriculture, natural resources management and plant health.
Before starting at the Arboretum last October, I earned my degree in biological sciences from the University of Minnesota, but I couldn’t tell a hackberry from an elm tree, much less use a chainsaw. Working with our expert horticulture staff over the next 11 months, I learned things I never could’ve in a class.
I spent a month with our talented arborists, learning the physics behind felling a tree, pruning techniques, and all the other hard work in tree care. Much of my service term was spent removing invasive species from the Arboretum’s 660 acres of natural areas with the Natural Resources team. The work was rewarding, but it was also a joy to work alongside staff who took the time to teach me native and invasive plant identification. I now recognize more plants on walks through my Minneapolis neighborhood.
I also helped the Arboretum’s plant health specialist by researching emerging plant pests and writing management plans, and applying this knowledge while scouting for insects and diseases on the grounds last spring. I performed trunk injections to protect trees facing serious health threats, such as emerald ash borer and pine wilt nematode.
Beyond developing my horticultural knowledge, I built relationships within the Arboretum community. Throughout my term, I also worked with the Arboretum’s volunteers in many capacities. Each volunteer had a reason why they wanted to give back to the Arboretum, and it was great to see how special our grounds are to so many people.
One volunteer fondly recalled going on walks with his parents, later donating a bench in their memory.
Another volunteer had also served in AmeriCorps, and she was excited to hear that the Arboretum had become a host site. In the spring, I helped our Youth Education staff with field trips at the Marion Andrus Learning Center. I spoke with elementary school students about the importance of habitats for pollinators and planted a pollinator-friendly plant with each student to take home. As part of my role, I also conducted community outreach about invasive species. I contributed posts to the Arboretum’s blog on the ongoing removal of Siberian squill, alder and buckthorn at the Arboretum, and hosted tabling events to engage visitors on topics including emerald ash borer.
Building a network
One of my favorite aspects of the program was building a network with the other 58 GreenCorps members in my cohort. We support each other at various volunteer events and conferences. I was able to host 12 members out at the Arboretum for a day of service: pulling invasive garlic mustard. It was the first visit to the Arboretum for many of them, and they were all eager to come back and continue exploring.
AmeriCorps programs, such as Minnesota GreenCorps, increase the capacity of nonprofit organizations across the nation, while members develop professional skills. I’m so grateful for the time I was able to spend as part of the Arboretum family, thanks to GreenCorps! To learn more about the Minnesota GreenCorps program and its members’ impact, visit their website.
This story was originally published in the Arboretum Magazine, a quarterly magazine for members of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.