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Every year the Native Plant Society of Texas recognizes excellence in writing and communication, conservation and public service, and lifetime achievement in the field of Texas native plants. As chair of the Awards Committee I am proud to announce the winners for 2018. The honorees have all made outstanding contributions that will have long-lasting impact. The awards will be presented at an awards banquet in San Antonio on Saturday, October 20.
Dora Sylvester was selected to receive a Presidents Award for helping to establish the herbarium at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), for teaching taxonomy at the Fort Worth Nature Center, and for many years of public service in the field of Texas native plants. She contributed hundreds of botanical specimens and illustrations from her personal collection to the herbarium at the University of Texas at Austin and to BRIT. Dora recently celebrated her 94th birthday.
Tricia Hopkins is also a recipient of a Presidents Award. Tricia began a tradition at the symposium in 2004 when she presented a hand-made quilt featuring wildflower designs to be raffled to support the Ann Miller Gonzalez grants and the Kate Hillhouse scholarship program. Since then Tricia has donated ten more quilts and raised thousands of dollars for the two programs.
George Clendenin receives the Donovan Stewart Correll Memorial Award for scientific writing in the field of the native flora of Texas. George is the author of Common Rangeland Plants of West Central Texas, which covers over 200 species including grasses, forbs and woody plants, with emphasis on those important for ranching and wildlife habitat. He is a rangeland management specialist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Louis Harveson receives the Carroll Abbott Memorial Award for writing in the popular vein on Texas native plants. Louis is the author of Woody Plants of the Big Bend and Trans-Pecos: A Field Guide to Common Browse for Wildlife, intended to inform readers about the diet of the region’s large animals and to inspire the continued good stewardship of the lands they inhabit. He is the Dan Allen Hughes Jr. Endowed Director of the Borderlands Research Institute for Natural Resource Management and a professor at Sul Ross State University.
Photo of The Salsa Squad (banner) by Olivia Tapia
Flo Hannah was presented the Lynn Lowrey Memorial Award for horticultural achievement in the field of Texas native plants. Flo was recognized posthumously for her work in inspiring Texans to plant natives and to save coastal prairies, and for her tireless efforts to create, expand and enhance the highly esteemed Houston Audubon Natives Nursery.
Dalton Merz receives the Charles Leonard Weddle Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in the field of Texas native plants. As a range management specialist with the Soil Conservation Service and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, he taught and advised landowners to value, properly use and conserve native range plants for the benefit of livestock, wildlife and humans. Since retirement from NRCS he has continued as a consultant and educator, for a total of over 50 years of dedication to native plants and smart land management.
George Ozuna, Olivia Tapia and The Salsa Squad receive the Native Star Award which goes to an organization or agency for an act of conservation or public service in the field of Texas native plants. The Salsa Squad is a group of dedicated volunteers who have contributed hundreds of hours to the City of San Antonio Medina River Natural Area. Under the leadership of San Antonio Chapter members George Ozuna and Olivia Tapia, they created hardscape and emplaced trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and forbs to transform an unkempt space at the park entrance into an inspiring Chaparral Demonstration Garden.
Jaime Gonzalez receives the Nancy Benedict Memorial Award, which goes to an individual for an act of conservation or public service in the field of Texas native plants. Jaime was recognized for his efforts in community outreach and education to increase awareness of the benefits of native plants to our local prairies and to the urban landscape and environment. He is the Houston Urban Conservation Programs Manager for the Nature Conservancy in Texas and was formerly with the Katy Prairie Conservancy.
The City of Frisco Environmental Services Division and The Frisco Garden Club receive the Digital Media Award for outstanding digital publications featuring Texas native plants. This effort was coordinated by Molly Kinson. These organizations are recognized for developing and maintaining the PlantSMART website. SMART stands for Save water, More color, Attract wildlife, Reduce maintenance, Texas tough. Users can query a plant gallery of some 100 species growing in the Shawnee Trail Demonstration Garden in Frisco to find the plants that best suit their landscape needs.
The Friends of the Fredericksburg Nature Center and designer Mary Ellen Terrell receive the Mary Jo Laughlin and Eula Whitehouse Memorial Award for visual art that illustrates, interprets or promotes Texas native plants. The award recognizes the trailhead sign at the Fredericksburg Nature Center for its pleasing, easy-to-read layout and exposition that educates, informs and inspires trail walkers.
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: kimconrow
