Nebraska City, Neb.--Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, Illinois, will receive The National Arbor Day Foundation's highest individual honor during a special awards ceremony to be held here on Saturday, May 1. The awards ceremony is part of the Arbor Day weekend celebration held in Nebraska City from April 30-May 2. Mayor Daley will receive the J. Sterling Morton Award for exemplary conservation work at the national or international level.
Daley has been a strong advocate for his city's urban forest since first assuming the mayor's office in 1989. As mayor he has worked to augment Chicago's architectural environment with trees and flowers. Through his GreenStreets program, he has promoted the planting of hundreds of thousands of trees and millions of flowers and perennials, reversing a trend of urban tree loss in Chicago and making the city a model for other large metropolitan areas.
Others being honored this year include the Wilshire Center Treescape Project for its rejuvenation effort of Wilshire Boulevard, destroyed in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, recipient of a 1999 Lady Bird Johnson Award; Cenla Pride Environmental Museum and Camp in Alexandria, Louisiana, a free, hands-on learning museum and day camp, winner of a 1999 Education Award; Forest of Hope: Stories of Regeneration, a book chronicling organizations exemplifying environmental stewardship, winner of a 1999 Media Award.
The National Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit education organization dedicated to tree planting and environmental stewardship.