A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
Meeting new people isn't always easy. Bars are expensive, and dating apps can be exhausting. So a group in Minnesota is trying something different. They were grabbing some work gloves, heading to a park and helping remove buckthorn shrubs. Here's Nicole Ki of Minnesota Public Radio.
NICOLE KI, BYLINE: More than 50 people showed up to clear the invasive shrubs along a trail at a Minneapolis park. Some use loppers to cut through the buckthorn. Others pile branches, all stopping every so often to introduce themselves. Andrew Johnson drove from a nearby suburb after spotting the event on Reddit.
ANDREW JOHNSON: I'm single, ready to mingle, whether that be for a romantic partner or, I guess, making friends around the cities. I don't really like dating apps. I think seeing people in person mingling is more - it's more organic.
KI: The Buckthorn Removal Singles Club is a new meetup every Sunday at this park. Organizer William Cooke says the idea came to him after noticing how much buckthorn had taken over.
WILLIAM COOKE: I was just looking and seeing how much buckhorn there was, and I was thinking this would take an army of people to remove. And got me thinking, maybe just put the two ideas together, have people meet each other in a very human way while also getting rid of the buckhorn.
KI: He printed out four fliers advertising the club and hung them up in neighborhood coffee shops. That was all he did until people shared photos online, which spread like, well, buckthorn. Some came looking for a date. Others just wanted to meet new people while helping the environment. For Corinne Buie, the event checked both boxes.
CORINNE BUIE: As a queer person, it's harder to meet people, but I figure there's got to be some gays out here trying to help the Earth (laughter).
KI: She says reducing invasive species like buckthorn so native plants can grow was part of the appeal.
BUIE: It doesn't hurt that buckthorn is just such a fun word, too. Singles Buckthorn Removal Club? Come on.
KI: Kind of has a ring to it.
BUIE: Yes, it does.
KI: By the end of the morning, volunteers had cleared piles and piles of buckthorn and swapped phone numbers. Some stuck around afterward for coffee. Cooke says the club will continue meeting every weekend until it's too cold outside. He hopes people leave with a stronger connection to the park and maybe each other.
For NPR News, I'm Nicole Ki in Minneapolis.
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