Buckthorn is an invasive species of plant. It has a much longer growing season - leafing out before other plants and remains green well into December. It also will grow very fast and very tall. Because of this, it will crowd out all other species of plants, and because of the shade, the low lying native plants will cease to grow. This causes problems with wind and water soil erosion, because the ground plants that normally would keep the soil in place are no longer there.
Further increasing the problem is that if you cut a buckthorn plant to a stump, it will only re-sprout and grow back taller and stronger. The only way to eradicate buckthorn is to remove it by using a weed-wrench that will pull it completely out, roots and all. The city will be providing the weed-wrenches and training for their use.
Join Bloomington Parks and Recreation and Bloomington Park Maintenance in helping clear buckthorn from beautiful Pond Dakota Mission Park overlooking the Minnesota River Valley. Wear sturdy shoes, jeans, long sleeve shirts, eye protection, and dress in layers. Some cutting and removal tools will be provided, but bring a bow saw, handsaw, lopping shears or hand shears if you have them. Please label tools with your name and phone number. Water and snacks will be provided for volunteers. Meet at the park to receive tools and instructions.
Note: I know this is the same time as the fall event, but the city has requested our assistance on this date (because of all the logistics involved with the weed-wrenches). The city picked the date and invited us to participate. You can always participate for a bit in the CITO in the morning (and grab another CITO cache type) and make your way over to the Fall Event in the afternoon.