The Awards committee seeks nominations of the Active Membership for the annual Awards described herein (exclusive of President’s Award and Special Awards) by December 31st of each year, through published requests, mailings and/or any other means which may be directed by the Board.

Final determination of award recipients shall be determined by a Vote of the Board. Any nominated Board member(s) shall abstain from voting on their award category.

All awards are bestowed on an annual basis. All awards shall be announced and presented before the Membership at the Annual Meeting and Conference.

Click here to complete our online Awards Nomination Form. Direct your questions to Awards Chair Carl Mellinger at ginkgoone@aol.com or contact the WCISA office at 559/784-8733.

All valid nominations shall be reviewed by the Award Committee and a recommended award slate submitted to the WCISA board.

Virtually every region in the state is represented by these grant recipients that are engaging in a variety of tree-planting projects that will enhance through urban forestry  California communities extending from the city streets of Eureka to underserved areas in Los Angeles County.  “Healthy urban and community forests directly contribute to the economic, social and environmental health of California,” said Chuck Mills, California ReLeaf Grants Program Manager.  “Through their funded proposals, these nine grant recipients reflect a creativity and commitment to making our state a better place to live for this generation and generations to come.”

The California ReLeaf Tree-Planting Grant Program is funded through a contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.  A complete list of the 2011 grant recipients can be downloaded from the California ReLeaf website at www.californiareleaf.org.

“ReLeaf is proud to be an integral part of building community through tree-planting projects in California,” said Executive Director Joe Liszewski.  “Since 1992, we have invested more than $6.5 million in urban forestry efforts geared towards greening our Golden State.  We are especially excited to see several of these grant recipients volunteering to work with us this year to measure many of their projects’ healthy community contributors by utilizing cutting-edge software that will quantify air quality and energy conservation benefits. ”

California ReLeaf’s mission is to empower grassroots efforts and build strategic partnerships that preserve, protect, and enhance California’s urban and community forests.  Working statewide, we promote alliances among community-based groups, individuals, industry, and government agencies, encouraging each to contribute to the livability of our cities and the protection of our environment by planting and caring for trees.

Applications for the 2011 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be accepted nationwide until April 1, 2011. For more information and t o apply for the 2011 award online, visit the website at www.naturehills.com/green_america_awards.aspx

Mayor Espinosa gets help from 3-year-old Elijah-Re Jones to plant a ceremonial Cedar of Lebanon tree at the Canopy awards ceremony. Credit: Aaron Selverston

Dozens of families, numerous former mayors of Palo Alto, and Canopy volunteers made up a crowd of about 100 people at Canopy’s annual awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony was held on Tu Bishvat, the Jewish holiday for trees, adding a special significance for many of the attendees.

Palo Alto Mayor Sid Espinosa planted a Cedar of Lebanon at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center with the help of several children in attendance at the ceremony.

In praise of Canopy, Mayor Espinosa said, “Canopy makes sure that hundreds [of trees] are planted -hundreds more than were cut down – all over this city.”

Suggestions received through February 24, 2011, will be considered for Great Places in America designation in 2011. For more information on how to suggest your favorite Great Place, visit APA’s website.

“In this era of limited resources, public-private partnerships are proving especially successful in making their communities more sustainable.” said Stephen Jordan, BCLC executive director. “We are soliciting nominations so that we can share best practices and help accelerate this process throughout the country.”

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards recognize communities in the categories of small, midsize, and large, based on population. Nominations will be accepted until January 21, 2011. Community-based coalitions, chambers of commerce, community developers, and other local agencies are encouraged to complete the application process.

The winning community in each category will receive $20,000 worth of trees from Siemens Corporation. The tree award will be delivered through the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). In 2010, Siemens Sustainable Community Award winner Grand Rapids, Michigan, received its trees during a weekend-long planting event staged by ACT member organizations Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and Global ReLeaf of Michigan. Siemens employees participated in the planting, as did local volunteers, civic leaders, tree care experts, businesses, and city officials.

To be eligible for the awards program, cities and municipalities must demonstrate several overarching characteristics of long-term sustainability planning. These requirements include local partnerships and stakeholder involvement and demonstrable improvements to the environment, business sector, and quality of life.

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards judging panel consists of leading professionals with backgrounds in environment, business, academics, government, and economic development. One winning community per category will be announced on April 13, 2011, at the Chamber BCLC’s National Conference on Corporate Community Investment in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia and its mayor’s office are the winners of the 2010 Sustainable Community Award, Large Community.

“Siemens is proud to sponsor this award, which emphasizes the important role communities of all sizes play in setting examples for achieving a sustainable future,” said Alison Taylor, vice president, Sustainability, Siemens Corporation. “Sustainability is a cornerstone of Siemens values and being able to support cities in their quest for greater sustainability is not only a business goal, but also a responsibility that we take very seriously.”

For more information, visit the Siemens Sustainable Communities Awards page.

“It’s an important part of our legacy and our future to stand here today in Aldrich Park,” Chancellor Michael Drake told the crowd of volunteers gathered to plant even more trees in celebration of the honor.

For more information on Arbor Day’s Tree Campus USA program, visit their website here.

Ninth-grader Amanda Radtke won an iPad from the city for correctly identifying 62 tree species in the Great 2010 Benicia Tree Science Challenge. The purpose of the challenge was to get more young people interested in Benicia’s urban forest initiative. The foundation is partnering with the city as Benicia develops a tree master plan. A survey of city trees is under way, which is expected to lead to future planting and maintenance goals.

The city contributed the iPad.

“We’ll repeat the contest next year, but it won’t be exactly the same,” Wolfram Alderson, Benicia Tree Foundation’s Executive Director, said. “But it will be some kind of challenge involving trees.”

WFI Fellows benefit from:

• Networking with a broad array of forestry stakeholders—from mills to public agencies to the non-profit sector—in the Pacific Northwest
• Gaining a global perspective on the many challenges facing us in forestry
• Understanding how globalization, climate change and forest ownership trends are changing the forestry sector

The WFI Fellowship is a great way to continue learning, explore career paths in the natural resource sector, and develop contacts in the region. Participation includes over 80 Fellows from 25 countries. The program is open to applicants from any country and there is a matching grant from the Harry A. Merlo Foundation. Applications are accepted year-round. For details on the program, eligibility, and associated costs, please click here.

WFI is a program of the World Forestry Center, which also operates a museum, event facilities, educational programs and demonstration tree farms. The World Forestry Center is an educational 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

• Addressed two or more environmental or public safety issues

• Involved the community and/or other organizations or agencies and

• Significantly enhanced the urban forest and livability of the community.

Gail Church, Executive Director of Tree Musketeers, describes the project in this way:

“Trees to the Sea is a tale of children daring to dream of an action they could take to solve local environmental problems, the 21 year journey through bureaucratic red tape, and the ultimate triumph that brought green trees to a blighted no man’s land. The setting is that of a small Midwestern town seemingly inadvertently dropped in a highly urbanized metropolitan area. Innovation is woven throughout the story. Young people envisioned a tree-lined highway and secured help from partners to make the vision real. While this is business as usual at Tree Musketeers, the character of youth in changing this small community facing large urban problems through Trees to the Sea is remarkable.”

“The role of trees is also somewhat unusual in that the Trees to the Sea mitigate airport noise pollution, minimize polluted runoff reaching the ocean, reduce air pollution and their beauty plays an integral part in the downtown revitalization plan, in addition to all of the other benefits trees bring to a community. The cast of characters merits attention since it was a broad public/private partnership including two cities, regional agencies, the federal government, large and small businesses, 2,250 youth and adult volunteers, and nonprofits with diverse missions.”

“The plot highlights the mutually beneficial partnership between Tree Musketeers and the City of El Segundo which sets a standard to be emulated wherein cities not only capitalize on working relationships with local nonprofits, but also community youth. The reader quickly learns that Trees to the Sea is a project that neither the city nor nonprofit could have accomplished alone.”

Congratulations, Tree Musketeers!