The Arboretum at Gustavus Adolphus College
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 in Saint Peter, Minnesota, United States. It contains a number of botanical gardens and a 125 acre arboretum with its first trees planted as small seedlings in 1973 on agricultural land. The arboretum was formerly named for Carl Linnaeus, 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. 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 Linnaeus’s fatherhood of scientific racism. This came following the Black Lives Matter 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. Therefore, the three major natural ecosystems found  in Minnesota are represented in The Arboretum: the conifer forest in the north, the prairie in the south and west, and the deciduous 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: Other attractions. The arboretum also has a number of other attractions which are as follows: