• Urban Forester of the Year, Joe Hansen

  This award celebrates an individual professional urban forester who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in the field of urban and community forestry.

  Joe Hansen

  A highly certified tree care professional, Hansen has worked with the Cook County Forest Preserve District, Park Ridge and Wilmette to advance urban forest management plans, inspect trees, review building plans and enforce tree preservation ordinances.

  A successful measure Hansen spearheaded as part of Wilmette’s Tree Preservation Ordinance allocates fees or fines generated when regulated work impacts trees on private property to fund a private-property tree planting incentive program. He shared best practices from this and a similar initiative in Park Ridge at a well-attended CRTI professional development event.

  Hansen regularly volunteers with CRTI and the Illinois Arborist Association, hosts his urban forestry podcast “The Municipal Arborist,” and brings together urban foresters for Arbor Day celebrations. He volunteers on the Illinois Forestry Development Council, chairing the Urban and Community Forestry Committee and assisting the Illinois Urban Forest Strike Team.

• Urban Forest Advocate, Latinos Progresando

  This award honors an individual or organization that has shown exceptional dedication to advocating for the protection, expansion, and maintenance of urban and community forests.

  Latinos Progresando

  Latinos Progresando has greatly improved green space and the urban forest on the city’s West Side. It has been serving Chicago’s Marshall Square, Little Village and surrounding neighborhoods since 1998.

  Over the past year alone, the group and its partners planted more than 120 trees along three major Marshall Square streets as part of its dedicated effort to address the community’s poor air quality and canopy cover. Latinos Progresando and its collaborators ensured the trees’ viability by watering them alongside residents and contracting additional watering services.

  The group consistently advocates for its community and engages local policymakers on measures to foster climate-resilient communities. It is convening a community member cohort tasked with driving continued momentum to plant trees and further enhance the area’s tree canopy.

• Urban Forest Innovator, Henrietta Saunders

  This award recognizes an individual or organization that has introduced innovative practices, technologies, incorporated new disciplines, collaborations, or new ways of thinking about trees in the human environment, or created novel programs to enhance urban and community forestry.

  Henrietta Saunders

  Henrietta Saunders’ steadfast commitment to raising awareness about conservation projects and policies in Glenview has generated strong public support and countless volunteers to improve water quality, support pollinator habitats and preserve and plant trees.

  Among other key policies, she spearheaded Glenview’s Urban Forest Management Plan, Tree Planting Incentive Program and its recently updated and expanded Plan for Nature. She was instrumental in passing a referendum bolstering Cook County Forest Preserves District funding. She serves on the Cook County Forest Preserves’ Conservation and Policy Council, helping to implement the Next Century Conservation Plan.

  Thanks to Saunders’ efforts, an environmental-focused educational booth called the “Green Table” was established at Glenview’s weekly Farmer’s Market, a growing number of volunteer events such as river cleanups and tree plantings were created and the library and local artists were engaged to help expand the reach of environmental issues. She started and leads an Openlands TreeKeepers Chapter in Glenview.

Accordion List

• 1. The Partnership Award

  2022 winner: Metropolitan Mayors Caucus

  The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus worked thoughtfully with public and private partners to develop a cohesive plan with climate adaptation and mitigation strategies for municipalities across the region. The plan is one of the first regional climate plans in the United States and represents input from 270 partners engaged in the plan creation through the stakeholder engagement process.

  The plan includes considerable support for tree planting and care at multiple levels. Growing and sustaining urban forests and natural ecosystems is a nature-based solution that will help meet the region’s climate mitigation target. As of the last update, there have been at least 34 municipalities and four councils of government that have signed resolutions supporting the MMC Climate Change Plan.

• 2. The Forestry Outreach and Stewardship Award

  2022 winners:  1) Christopher Flaherty and 2) Rolando Favela

  1) Christopher Flaherty

  Chris serves on the Elgin Sustainability Commission, which supported the city’s tree program (resulting in 500 trees planted in 2022), and as Chairperson for City of Elgin Urban Ecology work group. He donated plants, design, and time to create fifteen 100 sq. ft. demonstration native gardens for public education
  He supports Elgin Math and Science Academy eco-programming and planting of 20 oaks on the campus
  He donated the design, installation, and native plants/trees to the Elgin Public Museum of Natural History and Anthropology’s Native American Medicinal Garden exhibit, also providing information on the plants themselves and how Indigenous Peoples used them for thousands of years.

  2) Rolando Favela

  Rolando is an environmental professional and tree ambassador representing the Southwest Side of Chicago. He has been instrumental in getting more trees requested by residents in his community. His efforts have inspired new people to value trees. As a member of the Chicago Urban Forest Advisory Board he is committed to improving tree planting, care, and protection in the City of Chicago. He’s been a leader in Environmental Justice activities as part of the Southwest Collective for several years.

• 3. The Youth Engagement Award

  2022 winner: Graham Stocksdale

  This awardee is notable for being the first Youth Engagement Award Winner while still a youth himself! As an Eagle Scout candidate, Graham Stocksdale decided to focus on tree planting for his Eagle Scout Service Project. His project entailed two parts. One part was organizing groups of scouts to go door-to-door to introduce residents to the City of Elgin’s free tree program. The program plants trees in the parkway strip in front of people’s houses where there are no trees. The city doesn’t have the staff to communicate directly about the program therefore many homeowners are unaware of the program. Several neighborhoods affected by Emerald Ash Borer were the focus of this part of the project.

  The second part of his project raised money for trees and rallied community volunteers to plant 42 native trees in a neighborhood park. The community is now enhanced with a new grove of native Bur Oaks, Swamp White Oaks, Yellow Bud Hickories, Sycamores, Black Cherries, and Red Oaks. Some of the trees are selected for their ability to be in a low area prone to flooding to help with stormwater flooding.

• 4. The Private Natural Areas Award

  2022 winner: Bonnie Johnson

  Bonnie Johnson and her family are a formidable force! She and her husband own a 30.5 acre site in Kendall County.  They, with the support of their son, have worked tirelessly to create a beautiful native prairie and oak woodland that inspire them everyday.

  They have personally invested hundreds of hours of their time and resources clearing field edges, conducting prescribed burns, removing old fences and junk, and cutting and herbiciding invasive species, and when they have the land ready, they have planted hundreds of plants, shrubs and trees to create a range of beautiful native ecosystems that support an array of native wonders and will be enjoyed for generations to come.

  They know they are having an impact by virtue of the range of species they see on their property – from delicate plants in the understory to rarely seen birds overhead. They have worked to optimize their investment by putting their property in a forest management plan and enrolling it in NRCS and State Forestry programs.

  Bonnie Johnson and her family are a natural resource in and of themselves!

• 5. Public Natural Areas Award

  2022 winners: 1) Forest Preserve District of DuPage County AND 2) Lisle Park District

  Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

  In the winter of 2022, four Woodland Habitat Improvement Projects focused on oak ecosystems on 850 acres were funded and begun. The five-year projects will remove invasive woody plants, thin over-abundant woody native plants, herbicide invasive woody and herbaceous plants, augment native species, and provide follow-up management including planting of native trees and shrubs grown by District staff in their own plant nursery. In addition, district in-house staff continues to manage over 350 acres of woodland and savanna restoration in various parts of the county.  In total, these projects comprise over 1,100 acres of ecosystem management in highly urbanized areas of DuPage County.

   

  Lisle Park District for their Oak Regeneration Project

  The Lisle Park District manages several natural areas as habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. Many mature oaks are currently growing in their parks and natural areas but there are few young trees, which the staff identified as a problem for the long term health of the habitat. Ryan Jensen, the Park District’s naturalist, proposed a low-cost solution for this situation in the fall of 2021. It was an acorn mast year for white oaks, “…so like any good squirrel we decided to stock up– and grow our own trees.”  Acorns were collected from white, bur, swamp white, chinkapin, and dwarf chinkapin oaks and grown out. All of the seedlings- several hundred in total- will be planted in the parks over the next several years. Lisle Park District is committed to expanding and enhancing natural areas as havens for native plants and wildlife.

• 6. Community Advocate Award

  2022 winner: West Lakeview Trees Group

  At the end of November 2021, West Lakeview residents were alerted that 29 mature city-owned trees were going to be removed so the city could perform water main work. The West Lakeview Trees community group connected with the city’s Department of Water Management to find alternatives to the water main replacement that didn’t affect the trees. A year later, that construction is complete and all 29 trees once flagged for removal have been spared. This group serves as a model for other communities facing similar major infrastructure projects.

• Special Recognition in Memoriam

  Hawthorn Woods Village Trustee Steve Riess

  Trustee Riess served six terms, during which he co-founded Active Citizens for Responsible Expansion (ACRE), which was instrumental in preserving 110 acres of land which remains undeveloped to this day. He also served on the Environmental Committee, now known as the Sustainability Committee, and became the committee’s trustee liaison to the Village, as which he was instrumental in the implementation of numerous environmental initiatives that helped educate the residents of Hawthorn Woods on the importance of preservation. His passion for environmental preservation extended to the tree canopy, due to which the Village was awarded seven Tree City USA Awards, including a Tree City USA Growth Award from the Arbor Day Foundation. He created the Heritage Tree Designation for Hawthorn Woods, provided leadership in reviewing, revising and updating the Village’s Tree Ordinance,  created a Tree Management Plan, organized public education programs and workshops through the Environmental and Sustainability committees, and investigated the plausibility of creating floating habitat islands in the Village waterways. He was also involved in implementing a village-wide annual Arbor Day observance distributing trees to District 95 students and residents with over 2,000 saplings being provided in the last seven years. Steve was an asset to Hawthorn Woods, but his legacy will be felt across the seven county region as we share the benefits of the trees he protected and planted.

• Forest Advocate of the Year

  2022 winner: Raed Mansour

  Raed has been instrumental in the development of the “Our Roots Chicago” program. He’s responsible for the launch and management of the Tree Equity Group in Chicago. He helped develop Chicago’s Tree Equity Map. He’s also an active Openlands TreeKeeper, having adopted a park that he regularly maintains/ provides care for. His passion for trees has pushed the bar on forestry efforts in Chicago and inspired many of those who work alongside him.

• Forester of the Year

  2022 winner: Andy Smolen

  Andy Smolen is responsible for growing Franklin Park and creating green spaces all throughout the village. After retiring as an arborist for the City of Chicago after more than 30 years, he returned as the arborist for his hometown of Franklin Park to beautify his community. When Andy found out that Franklin Park was ranked as one of the highest priority communities by the Chicago Region Trees Initiative due to low canopy cover, poor air quality, and flood risk, he took the initiative to grow the canopy. Since then, Andy and his team have planted thousands of trees throughout the village, gotten an arboretum dedicated, worked with MWRD on a flood mitigation project, partnered with the local school district to get students involved in forestry efforts, organized outreach events to get residents engaged and excited about trees, and pursued every opportunity to make his home town greener. Andy approaches urban forestry with such enthusiasm that the people he interacts with cannot help but be inspired and aspire to do better.

Accordion List

• 1. The Partnership Award

  2021 Winner: Urban Forestry Basic Training, Tricia Bethke, Shawn Kingzette, Don Roppollo, Eduardo Medina, Phil Prohaska, Eric Menigut, and Steve Lane.

  In 2015, the CRTI Tree Risk Assessment and Management Work Group addressed the challenge of non-forestry professionals tasked with working on and near trees, which frequently leads to unintended damage and increased tree mortality. Their solution was a two day training on basic forestry skills and information taught by a variety of local expert volunteers. These experts have been coming together twice per year since 2015 to train 500 people at 14 locations around the region – and once in southern Illinois. Besides providing their knowledge and time, these instructors have connected with students, sharing their career pathways, and inspiring new tree huggers to enter the field.

• 2. The Community Stewardship Award

  2021 Winners: Restore Blue Island’s Tree Canopy—Val Kehoe, Ald. Bill Fahrenwald
  

  Val Kehoe reached out to the Aldermen in her ward, Bill Fahrenwald, and formed Restore Blue Island’s Tree Canopy. Together they raised money from residents in Blue Island to help get trees to plant all over the City. Val then got so many different groups involved from the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, The Morton Arboretum, Possibility Place Nursery, Openlands, and more to get trees donated over the last four years.
  They have planted well over 200 trees throughout the City of Blue Island. Residents are able to sign up for trees and they sign a pledge to keep them watered. In working with these groups, they have been able to diversify the tree canopy and get the types of trees that will do well in this area.

• 3. The Forestry Outreach Award

  2021 Winner: Oak Street Health

  To celebrate the opening of its 100th center, Oak Street Health committed to planting 100 trees across the Chicago region. Through their support, the benefits of urban trees were brought to residents of Chicago (Englewood and Edgewater), Waukegan, Flossmoor, and Blue Island. In addition to engaging community members and volunteers, this partnership also engaged students from elementary through high school in Blue Island and Waukegan, educating the next generation of community tree champions around the human health and quality of life benefits that trees generate.

• 4. The Youth Engagement Award

  2021 Winners: Kevin O’Toole and Mike Rizo
  In continuation of a long term, Smithsonian award-winning pollinator garden project, Biology teacher Kevin O’Toole led a cohort of 50 high school students in a 2021 Summer Garden Program this past summer at the Morton Freshman Center in Cicero. In addition to maintaining and studying the 5000 sq ft Monarch Waystation, the cohort of students planted trees in June and cared for them all summer, coming to campus at least three days a week. By the end of summer, the kids worked more than 2,000 hours planting and caring for 22 trees and building picnic tables, compost bins, a pond, and garden signs.
  

• 5. The Public Natural Areas Award

  2021 Winners: Kendall County Forest Preserve District and Lake County Forest Preserve District
  Kendall County Forest Preserve District acquired the 168-acre Fox River Bluffs Forest Preserve in 2015 with an overall goal to restore 99 acres of the former farmland to prairie and a reforested natural area. In 2020, they planted trees on roughly 47-acres of the Preserve in Yorkville, IL. After five years of analysis and preparation, the District and community volunteers planted 31,000 native trees and shrubs in April 2020! Their restoration activities have continued with several phases and activities planned for the rest of the preserve, including invasive species removal and broadcast seeding in 66 acres of the preserve containing high-quality natural resources including oak-dominated bluffs and ravines, seeps, and Fox River shoreline.

  Lake County Forest Preserve has taken a very active stance against invasive species and the protection of one of their highest quality preserves – Middlefork Savanna. They started this work in 2015, and with the help of US Forest Service social scientists, surveyed residents to determine their level of understanding of the impacts of invasive species, their awareness and ability to identify these species, and ascertain their willingness to actively help remove it. They have continued this effort, property owner by property owner slowly eradicating invasive species.

• 2021 Forester of the Year

  Steve Ludwig
  

  After 25 years of service to the Village of Algonquin as Public Works Superintendent and Master Arborist, Steve Ludwig has retired into a second arboricultural career in the private sector. Steve is a Board Certified Master Arborist, but he didn’t stop at achieving the highest credential available to arborists. He has used his expertise to help others grow professionally as a mentor, for his own staff and for neighboring communities, and through numerous training in all aspects of public works as a member of the American Public Works Association and the Illinois Arborist Association. In fact, Steve is known regionally as such a valuable speaker and mentor that he founded a speaking company to manage the requests for his talents. Most forestry professionals in the region can remember some time in their career when Steve has inspired them whether during a presentation that includes the phrase, ‘there’s poop in my lollipop!’ or in personal interactions when you walk away ready to continue growing.
  

• 2021 Forest Advocate of the Year

  Lynne Westphal
  Habitat is important for wildlife, but humans need good habitat, too. Lynne Westphal has been a research social scientist with the US Forest Service for thirty years, working to help planners, municipal employees, elected officials, nonprofits, tree advocates, and others understand how to manage natural resources to improve quality of life and achieve environmental justice. Her invaluable leadership in Chicago Wilderness and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative are just the tips of the iceberg. Her research has helped identify connections between canopy cover at schools and academic achievement, demonstrate a lasting connection to nature for children with positive nature experiences, and pinpoint drivers of community support for restoration efforts. In the RESTORE project, her team is investigating connections between the social structure of groups making ecological restoration decisions and biodiversity of the restoration sites.
  Her research has benefited numerous organizations and people, but she is also involved more directly with regional urban forestry efforts. The Urban Waters Partnership reconnects urban communities, particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed, with their waterways through community-led revitalization efforts that improve our Nation’s water systems and promote their economic, environmental and social benefits.
  

Accordion List

• 1. The Partnership Award

  2020 Winner: Go Green Deerfield, Deerfield Park District, and the Deerfield Sustainability Coalition.

  Go Green Deerfield created a #TreeCanopyChallenge for Deerfield residents to plant 2 trees per yard (aprox 12,000 trees) by 2025. They collaborated with the Deerfield Park District and Sustainability Commission to plant trees in our community, showcased native trees on a Sustainable Yard Tour, and educated residents about native trees and removing invasives like Buckthorn. They are working with the Deerfield Park District to increase our canopy by adding native Trees and have worked with the Village of Deerfield to promote the cost share parkway tree program. They also provided a free arborist-led tree walk and worked with the Park District to distribute tree whips to residents. 2020 slowed their progress, but they still managed to build relationships with various local entities and hosted a virtual native yard walk reaching with over 200 residents.

• 2. The Community Stewardship Award

  2020 Winner: Paula Kosin, for her Master Naturalist Tree Tagging Project. 

  Paula distributed info packets to every townhouse (104) in her community. She then spent two weeks tieing a tag to every tree, obtaining the species from an online map on the Downers Grove village website identifying all 23,000 parkway trees and labeling their fall color with duct tape and markers. In the process, she engaged more than 10 neighbors about the value of trees. She also provided an educational tree talk and an interactive experience with the tags for a group of children.

• 3. The Forestry Outreach Award

  2020 Winner: The City of Highwood

  For their efforts communicating with residents and inspiring them to value and plant trees. In partnership with CRTI, Community Development Analyst for the City of Highwood, Dustin Anand, went above and beyond to find locations on public and private property for 150 trees and helped coordinate virtual tree planting training so residents could lead the planting of their own trees for safe, well-spaced planting events across 2020 and 2021.

• 4. The Youth Engagement Award

  2020 Winner: Chicago Voyagers

  For empowering at-risk youth through outdoor experiential adventures that foster healthy relationships and responsible behavior. Chicago Voyagers believe in the potential of all teens regardless of race, socio-economic status, gender, ability, creed, or sexual orientation and aspire to support our youth in overcoming societal injustices that lead to differences in opportunity. Despite a complicated year, they still managed to provide programming and opportunities for their students.

• 5. The Public Natural Areas Award

  2020 Winner: The Forest Preserves of Cook County’s (FPCC) Tree Protection and Preservation Specifications Manual

  The manual guides land use and management decisions that take the preservation, protection, and maintenance of trees into consideration. The Manual builds on the FPCC’s existing Tree Mitigation Plan, intended to deter use of forest preserve lands by outside entities through a fee-based system used to compensate for trees removed for construction. The Manual ensures that land use requests, both internal and external, consider the short- and long-term impacts on trees and improves the protection and preservation methods and specifications used during construction to avoid damaging trees.

• 6. The Private Natural Areas Award

  2020 Winner: Steve and Kathryn Graves

  They are true leaders in conservation. By their actions and willingness to lead by example, they have inspired a generation of private landowners to preserve and restore natural areas throughout the region. They have also been active participants in the Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan Work Group providing important perspective to public and private landowners alike.

• 2020 Forester of the Year

  Robyn Flakne, Village of Glenview

  As the Natural Resources Manager at the Village of Glenview, Dr. Robyn Flakne has established an excellent municipal record in Natural Resources Management, including habitat and tree preservation. Robyn also teaches Green Infrastructure Planning and Management and Forest Resource Management at Northeastern Illinois University where she mentors countless students. She has been the Co-Chair of the CRTI Trees and Green Infrastructure Work Group for six year, working to prioritize the Illinois Urban Forest Action Plan for the Chicago Region, while addressing gaps in knowledge, training, and policy regarding use of trees as green infrastructure. Robyn is the staff liaison for the Village’s Natural Resources Commission (NRC) and supports the Village Board in planning, managing and evaluating natural areas in Glenview. Robyn was key, along with the NRC, to creating and implementing the Glenview Plan for Nature — which is a guide map for supporting nature and trees village-wide. She also was instrumental in creating a local Heritage Tree Program. Robyn serves as Glenview’s representative to the North Branch Chicago River Watershed Workgroup, and has been involved in planning and water improvement efforts on the North Branch for all of her years working for the Village. Robyn has published a Natural Areas Bike Tour and Heritage Tree Walk that include opportunities for the public to access natural areas and trees which Robyn has been involved in building, maintaining or recognizing. Throughout her tenure Robyn has secured numerous grants to support water quality improvement, local habitat and tree planting projects. Robyn advocates for projects, secures outside funding, implements projects, and then provides outreach to the public on the benefits of each. Robyn has also taken it upon herself to install interpretive signage as many of the projects to further enhance local understanding of the natural environment. Robyn serves as the Village’s Tree Preservation Officer for private property tree permits. Robyn enforces the Village’s codes as part of the building permit process and uses this platform to advocate for projects that work around and support existing trees and habitat. She educates members of the public daily during her interactions in the village regarding trees. Robyn’s local advocacy also includes coordinating with the Friends of the Chicago River for river clean-ups, organizing walking tours, a robust internship program and on-demand presentations for the library, garden clubs, schools, and other entities. She works closely with the Glenview Park District and provides a “Tree Trot” every year during OAKtober at The Grove. Robyn supports the Village’s Tree City USA application, working with schools and clubs for our annual celebration of Arbor Day. She supports and presents public education events at the Green Table every summer at the Glenview Farmer’s Market.

• 2020 Forest Advocate of the Year

  Tony Dati, Village of Niles

  An ISA certified arborist, Anthony Dati has been employed with the Village of Niles for almost fifteen years and has served on the Illinois Arborist Association board as Municipal Director and now Vice President. Tony has been actively involved in promoting arboriculture in conjunction with the American Public Works Association, Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network, CRTI, ISA, IAA, SMA, NEMF and other organizations throughout his career and provides public outreach at local schools, teaching students about the value of trees. Tony has spent his personal time placing tree tags on trees throughout the Village of Niles and in parks, where residents can easily see the value of the tree when they are enjoying its beauty and shade. An official Village Tree was planted under Tony’s supervision, complete with a bench and plaque for residents to enjoy and learn more about trees. An annual Arbor Day celebration is held, which is now used to also promote the Village’s status as a Tree City U.S.A. with two consecutive Growth Awards. Tony has had articles published in industry newsletters to continue his goal of educating the public and his peers. The urban canopy in Niles has diversified extensively under Tony’s watch. He has also led an overhaul of operations for tree maintenance that have improved efficiency and reduced pruning budgets by more than ten percent every year. Tony has also supervised construction and operation of a community garden named “Farm on Franks” where residents can rent a plot to grow produce. This garden has also produced fresh produce for local families in need of assistance via the Niles Family Services Department. Tony has an active leadership role with the Village’s Snow and Ice Control Program, which received the APWA’s coveted Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award in 2019. Reducing salt usage by approximately forty percent played a key role in obtaining the award and is another example of Tony’s drive to provide long-term benefits to the community. Also a graduate of the Illinois Public Services Institute, Tony’s passion, leadership, and willingness to step up to the plate to make a difference are an example we can all follow.

Accordion List

• 1. The Partnership Award

  2019 Winner: Village of Lake Zurich, Ancient Oaks Foundation and Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95, for the revitalization and restoration of Kuechmann Park into a unique open space that highlights the natural oak habitat of the area. The new conservation arboretum will focus on preserving the old-growth oak trees and the importance of removing invasive species and planting pollinators. The Village’s arboretum project will direct resources into the underutilized 7.8 acre public park to rebrand the space as a certified conservation arboretum, with a focus on three objectives: oak preservation, invasive species removal, and the importance of pollinators.

• 2. The Community Stewardship Award

  2019 Winner: Joe Fujan, for his work with the Chicago Park District and the McKinley Park Farmers Market. Joe went out of his way to save extra oak trees from an MWRD giveaway and planted the saplings in McKinley Park. He spent all summer maintaining the natural areas there, educating market goers about the beautiful landscape, and making sure that there will be tree cover there for years to come. He also made sure that everyone who took a free tree understood how large oak trees get, gave them care instructions and recommendations for how and where to plan them.

• 3. The Forestry Outreach Award

  2019 Winner: The 7000 oaks project led by the School of the Art Institute and Homan Grown, L3C, for their efforts in the North Lawndale neighborhood, which have grown the canopy and improved the lives of residents in that neighborhood. The design and implementation of such creative, inclusive, and sustainable projects in their community are models to learn from and follow.

• 4. The Youth Engagement Award

  2019 Winner 1: Jess Vogt’s Lab for Urban Forestry in the Anthropocene (LUFA) at DePaul University, for her work with nonprofits, municipalities, and community groups within the urban forestry and urban greening community to conduct applied research that aims to improve capacity to steward our urban forests and greenspaces now and into the future. Learn more here.

  2019 Winner 2: Illinois Green Industry Association’s Horticulture Occupational and Professional Experience program (H.O.P.E.), for building relationships between students and the Illinois Green Industry and providing a great opportunity for learning and making professional connections for the future. Each month of the program, participating students devote time to the H.O.P.E. program, providing them a better understanding of the inner workings of a typical green industry business. Learn more here.

• 2019 Forester of the Year

  Barb Wood, Chicago Park District

  Barb Wood has managed the Chicago Park District’s tree planting program for many years. Her work to maintain the diversity and character of our urban forest will have lasting benefits for decades to come. Most recently, Barb has led the Chicago Park District’s work to replace trees lost to the Emerald Ash Borer epidemic, and has successfully replanted parks throughout Chicago at a greater than one-to-one replacement rate. Barb has also managed the Green Deed tree dedication program for Chicago parks, working closely with many people to plant a tree in honor of a loved one.

• 2019 Forest Advocate of the Year

  Daniel Miraval, Green Extraction Technology, LLC

  Daniel is the co-founder, owner and a managing member of Green Extraction Technologies, LLC an Urban Forestry Tree Care Firm with a heavy focus on Tree Preservation and the Commercial Director for the Illinois Arborist Association. He is receiving this award for his tireless efforts to educate clients, peers, other sectors of the green industry, and the public via trainings, social media, consultations, partnerships with other arboricultural experts, and any opportunity to get the word out about trees and the care they need.