2010 Arbor Day Awards

J. Sterling Morton Award

David Nowak

David Nowak, project leader with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station, received the J. Sterling Morton Award, the highest honor given by the Arbor Day Foundation. For the past 25 years, Nowak's research on the value and benefits of urban forests has had a major impact on the environment.

The Morton Award is named after J. Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day.

Nowak led a team of researchers to quantify the benefits of urban forests. By the early 1990s, he was the first person to statistically sample and assess the urban forests of Chicago and Oakland, Calif. Because of his work, city leaders in these communities were able to understand the value and importance of trees. His work led to the development of i-Tree, a collaborative program between public and private partners that provides tools for communities to use to measure the environmental services provided by trees. The i-Tree tool is now being used by thousands of communities around the world. In 2007, Nowak and the scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Al Gore, Jr.

In addition, this year the Arbor Day Foundation presented awards to six other individuals, seven organizations and three corporations, all of which has demonstrated a commitment to tree planting and conservation efforts.

This year’s winners are:

• Lifetime Stewardship Award

  • David Nowak

• Good Steward Award

  • Education at Big K of Macon, GA

• Public Awareness of Trees Award

  • Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver, CO
  • Mile High Million Tree Initiative of Denver, CO

• Frederick Law Olmsted Award

  • Dave Mooter of Kennard, NE

• Excellence in Urban Forest Leadership Award

  • David Bragdon of Portland, OR

• Forest Lands Leadership Award

  • Jim Schmitt of Gering, NE

• Award for Excellence in Volunteer Management

  • Casey Trees of Washington, D.C.
  • Green City Partnerships Program of the Seattle area

• Champion of Trees Award

  • Steve Koehn of Annapolis, MD
  • The Kirkwood Junior TreeKeepers of Kirkwood, MO

• Lawrence Enersen Award

  • Robert Sympson of Lynbrook, NY

• Rachel Carson Award

  • Mary Kay Inc. of Dallas, TX

• Education Award

  • The Tree Commission Academy of Columbus, OH

• Excellence in Partnership Award

  • Perkins County Conservation District of Bison, S.D.

• Celebration Award

  • Sheila Flint of Sherwood Park, Alberta
  • Strathcona County Recreation Department of Sherwood Park, Alberta

• Legacy Award

  • Laurence Wiseman of Potomac, MD

• 2010 Promise to the Earth Award

  • The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies
  • T-Mobile USA