2008 National Arbor Day Awards

Frederick Law Olmsted Award

The Frederick Law Olmsted Award

Buck Abbey

Buck Abbey of Baton Rouge, La., is the recipient of the Frederick Olmsted Award for exemplary tree planting and conservation work at the state or regional level. Abbey is a nationally recognized authority on municipal landscape ordinances and codes, and has been a major influence in working to draft landscape standards for communities across the country that recognize the importance of trees in cities and towns. He serves as an associate professor of landscape architecture at Louisiana State University, where he has worked to create the Green Laws Web site, which provides resources and information on landscape architecture, land use law, tree preservation and landscape legislation. His professional work has exemplified a commitment to tree planting and conservation that has improved communities across America.

This year’s winners are:

• Lifetime Stewardship Award

  • Dr. Peter Raven of St. Louis, MO

• Frederick Law Olmsted Award

  • Buck Abbey of Baton Rouge, LA

• Caroline French Morton Award

  • Jeunesse Park of Johannesburg, South Africa

• Lawrence Enersen Award

  • Debbie Mendelson of Woodside, CA

• Lady Bird Johnson Award

  • Green Streets for Omaha, NE

• Rachel Carson Award

  • Long Island Nature Collaborative for Kids of Long Island, NY

• Good Steward Award

  • Kurt Berger of Sugar Grove, PA
  • Johney Haralson of Denmark, SC
  • The Ziolkowski Family of Crazy Horse, SD

• Project Award

  • The City of Buffalo and Re-Tree Western New York of Buffalo, NY
  • Johnson City Housing Authority of Johnson City, TN
  • Rain to Recreation of Lenexa, KS
  • The USDA Forest Service Living Memorials Project of Newtown Square, PA

• Education Award

  • The Forest Where Ashley Lives by Mark and Ashley Vitosh of Ames, IA

• Media Award

  • If I Were a Tree by Dar Hosta of Flemington, NJ

• Celebration Award

  • Eastside Elementary School of Clewiston, FL

• Promise to the Earth Award

  • Doubletree Hotels
  • Home Depot Foundation