Gustavus Adolphus College

The cover of the 2009 Linnaeus Arboretum calendar.

Gustavus Adolphus College recently created and published its first Linnaeus Arboretum calendar. The 2009 calendar features an array of photographs taken in and near the College’s Linnaeus Arboretum by local photographer and retired Gustavus controller, Anders Bjorling, a 1958 Gustavus graduate.

In addition to beautiful full-color photographs, the 13-month calendar includes phenology by Minnesota naturalist Jim Gilbert, a longtime educator and 1962 Gustavus graduate. It also contains notes by Cindy Johnson-Groh, executive director of the arboretum and professor of biology and environmental studies at Gustavus.

The 125-acre Linnaeus Arboretum, located on the southwestern end of the Gustavus campus, provides an environment to educate the mind, revive the spirit, exercise the heart, and delight in Minnesota’s natural history. It is named for the Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who devised the binomial nomenclature system used today.

The arboretum was established in 1973 with the planting of tree seedlings on what had previously been agricultural land. The three major natural ecosystems found in Minnesota are represented in the arboretum, including the northern conifer forests, prairies of the south and west, and deciduous forests from central Minnesota. Formal gardens surround the Melva Lind Interpretive Center and include more than 100 species of cultivated trees introduced from other regions. A new 70-acre coneflower prairie is being developed on the west side of the arboretum.

The calendars are for sale for $13 plus a $3 shipping and handling fee per copy. Proceeds from the calendars will benefit the Linnaeus Arboretum.

For more information about the Linnaeus Arboretum or to purchase a calendar online, go to gustavus.edu/arboretum. You can also call and speak to an arboretum staff member by calling 507-933-6181.