What is 'Nominate Your Neighborhood'?

• Do you and your neighbors hate all of the buckthorn that has invaded your neighborhood?
• Do you see buckthorn where native shrubs and wildflowers used to grow?
• Would you like to do something about it, but feel overwhelmed thining about what to do with all of the buckthorn once you cut it down?
• Then apply for the Nominate Your Neighborhood buckthorn brush pick-up program!

A big problem when removing buckthorn is figuring out what to do with all of the removed brush. As part of the "Nominate Your Neighborhood" program, residents and neighbors can team up to organize a buckthorn removal event on their properties. If selected, (determined prior to a removal event being scheduled) the City will pick-up all of the buckthorn brush free of cost.

How Does It Work?

City staff will review applications and if selected, your neighborhood will be in charge of planning and hosting a buckthorn removal event.  Since long-term brush piles are considered a City code violation, buckthorn brush can only be stacked on the curb up to 72 hours before the scheduled pick up. On the designated pick up day, the City will come by and pick up the cut buckthorn from the curbside. 

Only one application is needed per neighborhood. The number of households participating will be a major factor in selection. Each property counts as "one", no matter the number of participating residents in each household.  A minimum of three participating homeowners is required to apply.   The application deadline is June 1. 

Application available for download here
Program rules available here
Flier for group leaders to promote program available here

Program Schedule

Date	Program Task
June 1st	Application deadline
July 1st	Announcements on applications made. If selected, you will have one month to notify the City of several preferred pick up dates (first come first serve).
August 1st	Last day for neighborhoods to notify of preferred pickup date.
September 1st-October 31st	Buckthorn removals must occur within this time frame. Pickup dates can be requested on any Monday.

Why was the Program Started?
The City recognizes the value of removing invasive species such as buckthorn from both public and private property. The City also recognizes the challenges that residents face when trying to find athe right way to dispose of buckthorn brush once it has been cut down.

Since the City does not have the funds to support a citywide buckthorn pick-up program, it has decided to use the "Nominate Your Neighborhood" program to help residents get rid of their buckthorn brush. The program will maximize available funds by encouraging homeowners who are active in their communities to work together to remove buckthorn. Making buckthorn removal a neighborhood project will help the long term success of buckthorn control. The less buckthorn in your neighbor’s yard, the fewer seeds that will end up in your yard in the future. By concentrating on larger pick-ups that are centralized in one area, rather than smaller individual pick-ups spread across a large area, the City will increase the amount of buckthorn it is able to remove with the limited funding and resources available.

Would you like to remove buckthorn but don't wish to apply for the nominate your neighborhood program -- or your application was not accepted? 

If you have a vehicle in which you can haul buckthorn brush, the City compost pile will be open for public buckthorn brush drop-off during the last weekend of the month in June through September AND every weekend in October, free of charge. The compost facility will be opened between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ONLY buckthorn brush will be accepted.

The dates the compost pile will be open for free buckthorn brush drop-off in 2013 are:

• Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30    
• Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28
• Saturday, August 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1
• Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Sept. 29
• Saturday, Oct. 5 and Sunday, Oct. 6
• Saturday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 13
• Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20
• Saturday, Oct. 26 and Sunday, Oct. 27

The compost pile is located directly behind Dodge of Burnsville on Pleasant Avenue. Click here to see a google map of the compost pile location. The compost facility is locked and closed to the public except on the dates listed above.

Contact for the Nominate Your Neighborhood Program

Caleb Ashling, Natural Resources Technician
e-mail
Ph: 952-895-4543