Building With Trees Awards of Excellence Announced

Nebraska City, Neb. -- Conservation-minded builders and developers around the country have been named to receive the 2001 Awards of Excellence in the Building With Trees Recognition program. The program, created in 1998 by The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of Home Builders, recognizes builders and developers who save trees during construction and land development.

Winners of the 2001 Building With Trees Awards of Excellence are:

Recognized in the Residential development category, of 26 to 100 lots, is the Kelly Woods project, developed by Residential Development Group with the consulting tree expertise of Hendrickson the Care of Trees. Located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, the development was designed with the idea of preserving the natural wooded character of the 22-acre site. One important success was the locating of individual driveways for each of the 51 homes on a lot-by-lot basis to minimize disturbance of the existing flora.

Shea Homes has been recognized in the category for Residential developments with 501 or more lots. The 1500-acre Silver Creek Valley Country Club community, located outside San Jose, California, has a number of mature oaks that have been preserved and incorporated into the design. Judges cited the extensive tree inventory completed by Barrie D. Coate of Los Gatos, and precautions taken to protect trees and plants as important details worthy of the Award of Excellence.

Pinehurst Place has been recognized with a Special Award for redevelopment and restoration of 65 acres that had once had been the location of country estates for a number of prominent St. Louis families. Taylor-Morley Homes, of Maryland Heights, Missouri, was assisted by Richard Hall of Hall & Halsey Associates, St. Louis in the preservation of trees lining a creek on the Pinehurst Place property, as well as the clean-up of debris and planting of over 1,000 trees. The development had, in recent years, been used as a landfill and now includes plans for the construction of 187 single-family homes and 32 attached villa homes.

A jury of development industry and urban forestry professionals selected the award winners. Criteria considered in the judging included: creativity in and attention to protecting and planting trees during planning, design, and construction, and in providing for long-term tree care; commitment to tree protection by having a tree professional on the development team, inventorying existing trees, and using that information to help preserve trees; and communication of and adherence to tree protection goals throughout construction.

The Awards of Excellence will be presented at the Arbor Day Foundation's national Building With Trees Conference March 26-28, 2001 in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The conference will highlight the awards presentation and offer a national forum to discuss the issues involved in tree protection during land development and construction.

In addition to the Awards of Excellence, the Building With Trees program also provides builders and developers the opportunity for recognition following the planning and design phase of a project. Applicants can register their commitment to building with trees by meeting certain criteria, including having a tree expert on the development team, a tree survey prior to planning and design, and a tree conservation plan. The builder and tree expert must also pledge to follow tree preservation guidelines during the construction and maintenance stages of the project. Those who register their pledge receive a plaque, marketing materials, and educational information to help showcase their commitment to trees to homebuyers, the public and community officials.

To receive a free booklet on the Building With Trees Recognition Program, contact The National Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, NE 68410, tel. 402-474-5655. The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit education organization dedicated to tree planting and environmental stewardship.

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