Contact: Mary Anne WelchCommunication ManagerGreat River Greeningp. 612-968-0069mwelch@greatrivergreening.org Media AdvisoryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –FEATURE AND PHOTO OP

Invasive buckthorn is the fuel for a bonfire at a community event in popular Minnesota wildlife management area

(January 10, 2018) Great River Greening volunteers will warm up this winter around a bonfire of buckthorn, during a community event in the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area. The 24,000 acres sanctuary of wetlands, forests & prairies, located 40 minutes north of the Twin Cities, is popular among hunters and birders.

• WHAT: Brush Pile Burn

• WHERE: Carlos Avery WMA Sunrise Unit, 6690 East Viking Boulevard, Wyoming, MN, 55092

• WHEN: Saturday, February 9, 2019, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Sixty volunteers will haul, stack, and burn piles of buckthorn, an invasive plant that chokes out Minnesota’s native plant species and threatens wildlife diversity. It is expected that many of the volunteers will bring their own lunch or marshmallows and roasting sticks to enjoy a meal around the fire.Link to registrationThe event is hosted by Great River Greening, an environmental nonprofit and state leader in community-based restoration. GRG has worked in Carlos Avery and other public lands in the Anoka Sand Plain since 2009, to protect this environmentally sensitive area that filters most of the drinking water for the TwinCities and east-central Minnesota. It also home to 967 Species in Greatest Conservation Need.This project is made possible with support from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Outdoor Heritage Fund, and Connexus Energy.About Great River GreeningGreat River Greening is Minnesota’s leader in community-based restoration of the land and water that enrich our lives. We are devoted solely to stewardship, working side-by-side with 2,000 volunteers every year to transform degraded land into beautifully resilient habitat that supports wildlife and climate resilience. Since our beginning in 1995, we have engaged 42,000 volunteers and planted 485,000 native trees, grasses & flowers in 20,000 acres on 400 sites throughout Minnesota.In 2018, Great River Greening launched Restore Minnesota, a multi-year campaign to address the current threats to our Minnesota heritage: By 2020, we will impact 10,000 acres of working lands, including critical wildlife areas; reduce water pollution entering 20+ of Minnesota’s rivers and lakes; increase resiliency, biodiversity, and pollinator habitat across 4,000 acres of public land, and inspire 3,000 youth, including ethnically diverse kids and teens, to care for our natural world.