Volunteers Turn Out in Full Force for the Greenway's 6th Annual Arbor Day Event

April 29, 2006 — Despite the steady rain, nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the 100+ supporters who turned out to “green” the Midtown Greenway during the 6th annual Arbor Day tree-planting event, held Saturday, April 29, 2006.  Local officials, community members, and two dedicated crews of employees from Wells Fargo and Ryan Companies cheerfully donned rain jackets and wielded shovels, planting over 400 shrubs and trees at four sites along the Greenway.

The crowd collected beneath one of the Greenway’s signature bridges at the Midtown Exchange for the morning’s kickoff ceremony, which included opening remarks from representatives of the corridor’s many stakeholders. Two of MCW business partners, Rick Collins of Ryan Companies and Candice Washington from Allina offered their welcome and thanks to the volunteers.  “Ryan Companies has been involved with the redevelopment of the Midtown Exchange site for over three years now, and landscaping along this segment of the Greenway is a natural extension of that project,” said Rick Collins.  “We are excited to join the community of people working to transform this corridor into a beautiful amenity.”  

A number of elected officials were also on hand, including Hennepin County Commissioners Peter McLaughlin and Gail Dorfman; Mayor R. T. Rybak; and Council Members Gary Schiff, Robert Lilligren, and Elizabeth Glidden.  “The people who travel the Greenway have a real appreciation for the beauty that these Arbor Day efforts have brought,” noted Elizabeth Glidden.  “The Greenway becomes more alive with each year’s successive planting, reflecting the dynamic resurgence of these parallel urban corridors.”  

Kirk Brown of Tree Trust told the crowd that the event marked the 30th year of his organization’s involvement in community tree-planting events.  He also recalled the origins of Arbor Day over 140 years earlier, when more than one million trees were planted across Nebraska in a single day.  Far from lamenting the wet weather, Jo Ann Musumeci of the Midtown Greenway Coalition found it provided an apt metaphor for the collective nature of the day’s undertaking.  “People are much like these raindrops,” she observed.  “Individually, we may not have much impact, but together we can become a river of energy.”

The opening formalities concluded, the group turned its attention to the business at hand.  With master gardeners and Tree Trust staff on hand to guide the work, volunteers organized into separate crews at each of four Greenway sites.  The plantings followed the plans of landscape architect Gina Bonsignore, who created a unique design for each location.  Each fits within the broader vision of the Greenway as a trail that passes through a naturalized landscape of native grasses and wildflowers, along woodland edges, and through shady groves of canopy trees:

Park/Oakland Avenue:   In this design, small trees create a shady glade between the building and the trail, and are underplanted with masses of small shrubs.  Where the ramp meets the trail, tall, narrow aspens and spring flowering serviceberries grow in a field of June grass, a low-growing native grass that greens in April.

Midtown Exchange:  Around the patio, canopy trees, smaller spring-blooming trees, low shrubs, and short native grasses combine to create shade and greenery, while presenting a well-maintained and intentional landscape.  Future installations will include a formal rain garden that can be viewed from both the patio and the trail.  East of the building is a savannah landscape, including swaths of native grass interspersed with canopy oaks and shrubs. 

13th Avenue:  Low shrubs line the trail, while quaking aspen and serviceberries form a light screen between the trail and adjacent properties.  Wild roses also fill this sunny, south-facing slope, their network of roots eventually creating a natural erosion control mat.  In the nearby shallow depression, Redosier dogwood patiently marks time until autumn, when its red stems will make a dazzling display. 

Anne Sullivan School:  This planting evokes the edge environment between a prairie and savannah. Narrow evergreens interspersed with clusters of canopy oaks, small trees and shrubs screen the adjacent property, transitioning to a less formal mix of prairie species and little blue stem grass next to the trail.

In developing these designs, Bonsignore took special care to respect the Corridor’s recent historical designation, and made sure that the plantings would not obscure the views of bridges or other significant architectural features.  Because of future transit considerations, large trees were also set back from the trail. Volunteers planted the foundation trees and shrubs this Saturday, and the remainder of each installation will happen with the future support and involvement of community groups, public agencies, and area businesses.  To prepare for native grass plantings in the fall, the ground will be planted this spring with a quick-growing, temporary grass cover.

Wells Fargo and Ryan Companies were once again well represented this Arbor Day, with each company having over twenty employees present.  Wells Fargo’s team included people who have taken part every year since the event began in 2001.  Both crews worked diligently through the morning, helping to finish up at the remaining locations once the planting at their respective sites was complete.  And at noon, with every pot emptied and the last load of mulch spread, the volunteers packed up and headed home to dry off, leaving the rain to give the Greenway’s newest residents the best possible welcome. 

The 6th Annual Midtown Greenway Arbor Day event was made possible through the generous support of many funders and contributors, including: Midtown Greenway Coalition, Tree Trust, Allina Hospitals and Clinics/Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Target Corporation, Wells Fargo, Xcel Energy, Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority, Hennepin County, Ryan Companies, Home Depot Foundation, Chicago Lake Business Association, Birch Clothing, Peace Coffee, Birchwood Café, Mn ReLeaf/DNR, and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

“He that plants trees loves others besides himself.”

--Dr. Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732.