Arbor Day Awards
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2007 National Arbor Day Awards

J. Sterling Morton Award

Sebastian Chuwa, Moshi, Tanzania

Sebastian Chuwa, a tree planter from Moshi, Tanzania, Africa, will be at Arbor Day Farm to receive the J. Sterling Morton Award, the highest individual honor given by The National Arbor Day Foundation for exemplary work at the national or international level.

Chuwa, a botanist, has been studying the environmental problems in Tanzania for more than 30 years, and his solutions have benefited the land but also the people who depend on it for sustenance. Since 1992, Chuwa has established more than 50 clubs to teach youth about the need to conserve. He has also inspired the founding of women’s tree-planting groups, and he actively works with Roots and Shoots, a youth conservation foundation run by Jane Goodall. Chuwa has helped plant more than 1 million African Blackwood trees in Tanzania, and has helped create nurseries to lead the reforestation efforts of the tree that is one of the most highly valued and over harvested plants in Africa.

“Sebastian’s dedication to community-supported initiatives and youth education has inspired a generation in his homeland to plant and celebrate the value of trees,” said John Rosenow, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Through his tree-planting efforts, he is making an impact at home and around the world.”

See photos and video of Sebastian at the 2007 Arbor Day Awards weekend.

This year's winners are:

  • J. Sterling Morton Award

    • Sebastian Chuwa, Moshi, Tanzania

  • Frederick Law Olmsted Award

    • Ray Tretheway, Sacramento, California

  • Caroline French Morton Award

    • Ruth A. Wilson, Bowling Green, Ohio

  • Lawrence Enersen Award

    • Majora Carter, Bronx, New York

  • Good Steward Award

    • James Huff, Taylorsville, Mississippi
    • Bob & Margaret Kintigh, Springfield, Oregon
    • Steve Woodard, Cottage Grove, Oregon

  • Project Award

    • Mississippi Audubon, Moss Point, Mississippi
    • NFL Environmental Program, Warwick, Rhode Island
    • Planting for Growth, Weed, California
    • Sycamore Land Trust, Bloomington, Indiana

  • Education Award

    • Earl & Wanda Barrs, Buckley County, Georgia
    • City of Kent Youth Tree Education Program, Kent, Washington
    • Tree Amigos 4H Club, Anniston, Alabama

  • Media Award

    • Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    • The Tree Farmer by Chuck Leavell & Nicholas Cravotta, Macon, Georgia
    • TREE: A New Vision of the American Forest by James Balog, Boulder, Colorado

  • Celebration Award

    • TREEmendous Arbor Day, Arapahoe, Nebraska

  • Promise to the Earth Award

    • Enterprise Rent-a-Car
    • Home Depot Foundation

Award winners are recognized for their leadership in the cause of tree planting, conservation,and environmental stewardship.

Leaders in tree planting, conservation, and environmental stewardship from around the country and world are honored each year at our annual Arbor Day Awards celebration held in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The awards ceremony is part of the annual Arbor Day weekend celebration held at Lied Lodge & Conference Center.