2018 Arbor Day Award Winners
The 2018 Arbor Day Awards honors six individuals and organizations for their outstanding contribution to tree planting, conservation, and stewardship. Read their stories by clicking on any award below.
The 2018 Winners Are
The Lifetime Stewardship Award
David Forsell
Dave Forsell was the first tree planter at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) and is now president of the nonprofit, devoted to "helping people and nature thrive." He has forged KIB into a national leader of community development through greenspace-making and urban forestry.
The Trailblazer Award
Erica Smith Fichman
In 2012, Erica Smith Fichman developed TreePhilly, an urban forestry outreach program with the goal of increasing tree canopy to 30 percent across every neighborhood in Philadelphia. Under Erica's leadership, TreePhilly strives to ensure that its programs are accessible to all residents of Philadelphia.
The Headwaters Award
Cacapon Institute
For more than 30 years, Cacapon Institute has focused on protecting West Virginia's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, while also supporting forestry-related education and projects along the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and into western Maryland. As a regional leader in forestry activities, the Cacapon Institute uses tree planting, education and stewardship as solutions for improving water quality.
The Champion of Trees Award
City of San Francisco and Friends of the Urban Forest
The city and their nonprofit partner, Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF), used a community planning process to write a new urban forest management plan that identified street tree care as a major problem. Then FUF led the outreach plan to pass a ballot measure to allow the city to take back control of street trees. Measure E passed with 75 percent support and guarantees $19 million per year for street tree care in San Francisco.
The Friend of the Forest Award
Procter & Gamble Family Care
Procter & Gamble Family Care is a major buyer of wood pulp used to make many of their familiar brands, with all of this material adhering to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certifications. In addition, they are working with the American Forest Foundation (AFF) in the Carolinas for reforestation, landowner outreach and improved forestry management to bolster sustainable forestry efforts across the Carolinas.
The Spirit of Arbor Day Award
Plant-for-the-Planet
This worldwide network of young tree planters began with a school presentation by a nine-year-old German boy (Felix Finkbeiner), and today Plant-for-the-Planet is a global movement with an ambitious goal: to fight the climate crisis by planting trees around the world.
