For Immediate Release   Media Contact: Barb DeGroot, 952-443-1459

Arboretum Presents ‘Waterosity’ Summer Exhibition

            Chanhassen, Minn. (May 11, 2009) – What’s bubbling up at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum this summer?  Fresh thinking about people, plants and water!  Waterosity: Go Green with a Splash, the 2009 summer exhibition, opens June 6 and continues through Oct. 4.

            Bringing together the voices of artists, scientists and horticulturalists, “Waterosity” will celebrate this most precious, life-giving resource in thought-provoking and playful installations and exhibits for all ages.  Here’s a quick look at what’s “on tap”:

‘Harvest Your Rain’

            This new permanent display will demonstrate ways to re-use rainwater or help it filter into the earth, lessening harmful runoff into street drains and eventually our rivers, streams and lakes. The highlight is a permanent green roof constructed on an Arboretum picnic shelter and planted with sedum and prairie grasses.  An increasingly popular building option, the green roof holds many advantages over the traditional roofing for its ability to modify heating and cooling costs, reduce stormwater run-off, filter pollutants and carbon dioxide from the air, attract birds and wildlife and moderate extraneous noise.  In cramped urban spaces, a green roof can also provide valuable gardening space.

            Harvest Your Rain also will feature exhibits on rain barrels and rain gardens.  The former, when linked to a gutter system, can provide a reservoir of water to use for watering plants, filling birdbaths and other outdoor uses. A rain garden is an attractive landscaping feature consisting of a bowl-shaped or saucer-shaped garden filled with shrubs and perennial plants that thrive in changing water levels.  It serves as a temporary holding area to contain stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces such as roofs, driveways and parking lots and allow it to filter into the earth. Research shows that up to 70 percent of the pollution in streams, rivers and lakes is carried there by stormwater; a rain garden is an effective tool for reducing this runoff.

‘The Cutting Edge’ on Lawns

            This display, located on the island directly in front of the Oswald Visitor Center, will feature demonstration plots of new, water-efficient lawn grasses of the future, including University of Minnesota research grasses.  A Gardener’s Idea Shed will contain interactive displays about drip irrigation, rain sensors and other ways to “stretch your water” for a beautiful green yard using less blue. 

Intriguing Art in the Garden

            Ten winning art installations will be erected outdoors in Arboretum gardens and natural areas,

including human-size frog puppets, dancing water fountains, a jumbo disposable water bottle (with a

message) and much more.  They are meant to entertain, enlighten and engage visitors with their powerful messages on the value of water. It’s a great excuse for a walk in the gardens!

Go Green with a Splash Free Walking Tours

            Learn how to “go green with a splash” in a free, one-hour walking tour of the Waterosity exhibition, including stops at the Harvest Your Rain and Cutting Edge on Lawns displays, and portions of Intriguing Art in the Garden.  See what’s bubbling up on green roofs, rain gardens and barrels, porous paving, water-lean lawns and more.  Led by trained Arboretum volunteer guides every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. during Waterosity (June 6-Oct. 3).

The Green & Blue Express and Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre

            A new kid-friendly, narrated tram tour will be offered on Thursday evenings from June 11 through Aug. 27.  Led by Arboretum staff, the Green & Blue Express will blend Waterosity messages and a few activity-based stops into the lively narration.  The Express will depart at 5:30 and 6:45 p.m. and tickets will be $2.50 each.  Throughout the summer, the renowned Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre will perform on the following dates: June 13 (12:30 p.m.);  July 11 & 12 (at 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.) and Aug. 8 (12:30 p.m.).  Free with gate admission ($7 adults; free for members and ages 15 and younger).
Free Family Weekend Activities
            Families are invited to participate in free family activities at the Water Works Plant Lab  every Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Marion Andrus Learning Center.  June’s theme is “Boggy Beauty,” all about Minnesota’s gorgeous state flower the lady’s slipper and other plants that survive in soggy, boggy soils. July’s theme is “H2O on the Go” – explore a water drop’s journey and make a miniature garden.  In August, learn all about “Summer Succulents,” plants that survive with minimal watering and how they adapt.

‘Go Green with a Splash Party’ Weekend
            This special weekend – July 11 & 12 – features an information fair and water-wise demonstrations, art activities, live music and a Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre performance.  Catch the wave!  Visit “Waterosity” this summer at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum!

Waterosity sponsors include Galleria, Water in Motion, Toro Co., Irrigation by Design, Minnehaha Watershed District, Aveda, CH Robinson, Freshwater society, RBC, Xcel Energy and Tennant, with additional support from Great River Energy, Allied Waste and Minnesota Electric Cooperative.

Special thanks to Minnesota Green Roofs Council, Aloha Landscaping, Roovers & Waterproofers Local 96, Cermak Rhoades Architects, Rosenquist Construction, Colbond Inc., Green Acres Sprinkler, DripGrip, CoPu and Dragonfly Gardens for their help with the green roof.
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The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest, is part of the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and located 9 miles west of I-494 on Highway 5 in Chanhassen.  Admission is $7 for adults; free for ages 15 and younger and members.  The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.