The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College, also known as The Arboretum at Gustavus or colloquially as The Arb, is on the campus of
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...
in
Saint Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. It is 10 miles north of the Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area. The population was 12,066 at the 2020 census. St. Peter is the county seat of Nicollet County and home ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It contains a number of
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s and a 125 acre
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
with its first trees planted as small seedlings in 1973 on agricultural land. The arboretum was formerly named for
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, a Swedish botanist, from 1988 to 2021.
History
Planning for the Gustavus Adolphus College Arboretum began in 1972. In January 1973, President Frank Barth announced the dedication of land lying west of campus for the purpose of developing an arboretum and wildlife area. Dr. Charles Mason, Associate Professor of Biology, oversaw the project. Project plans consisted of an initial fifty-five acres to be planted with grass and trees as well as an anticipated expansion to if the project proved successful. In 1975, a master plan for the arboretum was developed which included three natural ecosystems and a formal garden, and Mason was appointed arboretum Director. The arboretum was home to more than 1,600 trees by 1978, and plans for the creation of two ponds were underway.
In 1986, Borgeson cabin was moved to the arboretum from Norseland, MN, and the Melva Lind Interpretive Center was completed during 1987. The center includes office space for arboretum staff, interpretive educational exhibits, and a meeting space. In 1988, the arboretum was officially named the Linnaeus Arboretum after renowned Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. The Friends of The Arboretum formed during 1989; members of the group participate in volunteer and educational activities. Jim Gilbert became director of The Arboretum in 1998, and upon his retirement in 2005, the Jim Gilbert Teaching Pond was created. In 2003, the first Linnaeus Symposium was held in conjunction with the celebration of The Arboretum's thirty year anniversary. The Symposium hosted renowned ethnobotanist Wade Davis.
Dr. Cindy Johnson-Groh became Executive Director of The Arboretum in 2006, and in 2007 the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation was added to the Interpretive Center. Collection of the Linnaeus Arboretum, 1972-Ongoing. GACA Collection 135. Gustavus Adolphus College Archives, St. Peter, Minnesota.
In 2021, Gustavus Adolphus College removed the name "Linnaeus" from the arboretum and it was renamed The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College. The college stated that it wished to, "tell a more complete history of Carl Linnaeus, examining not only his contributions to science but also the problematic elements of his work," citing scrutiny regarding the legacy of Linnaeus' writings on human taxonomy and their subsequent influence on scientific racism beliefs.
The push to remove the “Linnaeus” name from the arboretum was a student-led movement beginning in the fall of 2020 due to the claim that Linnaeus was the father of scientific racism. This came following the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
protests summer 2020, where many institutions pushed to remove historically racist names from their buildings and landmarks. A student-run instagram account titled @linnaeusnomore1 outlines how the keeping of the title “Linnaeus” did not follow the school’s outlined pillars and core values.
Over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, much deliberation was enacted on behalf of the movement. Many student organizations such as iGNiTE, The Radicals, and Student’s for Reproductive Freedom (SRF) encouraged students to sign petitions and write letters to the Board. Gustavus as an institution created the “Linnaeus Deliberation Circle.” While the push came from the students, the final decision had to be made by the Gustavus Board of Trustees, and on October 12, 2021, Linnaeus was removed.
Layout
The Arboretum was designed to represent the shape and ecosystem layout of the state of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. Therefore, the three major natural ecosystems found in Minnesota are represented in The Arboretum: the
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
forest in the north, the prairie in the south and west, and the
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forest in between. A fourth area surrounding the Melva Lind Interpretive Center includes cultivated gardens and trees that were introduced into the state from other regions of the globe.
Gardens
The Arboretum at Gustavus is home to twelve official gardens which are as follows:
* Thornberg Garden – Color from spring-flowering bulbs to
chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...
s in the fall.
* Greater Gustavus Hosta Garden – More than 20 varieties of hosta plants.
*
Melva Lind
Melva Lind (16 March 1903 – 18 April 1997) graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1923 and a Master of Arts degree in 1943. She then received the French equivalent to a Master of Arts degree from the Unive ...
Rose Garden – Nearly 50
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
bushes selected from Canadian varieties.
* Evelyn Gardens – Two gardens of perennial flowers, shrubs, and small trees.
* Swenson White Garden – White flowering annuals, perennials, and shrubs:
dogwood
''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...
s,
viburnum
''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
The membe ...
,
potentilla
''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...
,
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
,
plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
, and mock orange.
* Thompson Herb Garden – Culinary, medicinal and fragrant
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s; herbs important to Native American cultures; and herbs with Biblical roots.
* First Ladies' Lilac Walk – A collection of
lilac
''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
bushes.
* Presidents' Oak Grove – An
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
tree in honor of each president of the College.
* Uhler Prairie – Grasses and flowers native to the drier areas of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
.
* Johnson Prairie Outlook – A quiet place where one can sit on glacial boulders and observe the prairie.
* Gamelin Linden Grove – Trees from both the Old World and the New World displaying variation within the genus
Tilia
''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain a ...
.
* Esbjornson Ironwoods – Ironwood trees.
Other attractions
The arboretum also has a number of other attractions which are as follows:
* Alexis Memorial Bluebird Trail – Bluebird houses winding through the arboretum. Named for a longtime professor of English who was an avid birder.
*
Borgeson Family Cabin
Donald Gary Borgeson (born May 20, 1945) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey forward. He would play 145 games in the World Hockey Association with the New England Whalers
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, disc ...
– Built in 1866 by Swedish pioneers, the cabin was moved to the arboretum and restored in 1986. Adjacent to the cabin is a small vegetable garden that is planted annually with seeds that were stored from when the Swedish pioneers sailed across the ocean.
* Linnaeus Sculpture – Created by Paul T. Granlund, sculptor-in-Residence at Gustavus Adolphus College. The bust grows out of a linden tree, and the wig includes impressions of the layout of the formal Linnaeus' Botanical Garden in
Uppsala, Sweden
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
. Another copy was donated by the college to the
Uppsala University Botanical Garden
The University of Uppsala Botanical Garden (in Swedish ''Botaniska trädgården''), near Uppsala Castle, is the principal botanical garden belonging to Uppsala University. It was created on land donated to the university in 1787 by Sweden's King G ...
.
* Meditation area – Designed using Chinese Elements and feng shui concepts to foster inspirational and intuitive introspection. Is used frequently as a space for
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
Melva Lind
Melva Lind (16 March 1903 – 18 April 1997) graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1923 and a Master of Arts degree in 1943. She then received the French equivalent to a Master of Arts degree from the Unive ...
Interpretive Center – Exhibits and programs. Constructed in 1988.
*
Wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
– A re-creation of similar areas that existed on this same land a little over a century ago, home to aquatic and semi-aquatic plant and animal species.