North Carolina Urban Forest Council. Recognizing Excellence in North Carolina Urban Forestry

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1 North Carolina Urban Forest Council Recognizing Excellence in North Carolina Urban Forestry 2017

2 Page Deadline: June 30, 2017 The NC Urban Forest Council proudly announces the 2017 North Carolina Urban Forestry Awards. The goal of this program is to award communities, organizations and individuals for outstanding work in protecting and enhancing our community forests. This awards program is a way to give back to those who have been committed to creating healthy urban forests and raising community awareness of the importance of these projects. What is the urban forest? The urban forest is the trees, forests, and watersheds where people live, work and play in urban, suburban and rural communities. Urban Forestry is the management of all these urban forest resources. Taking care of these resources benefits the environmental, social, and economic health of your community. Who is the NC Urban Forest Council? The North Carolina Urban Forest Council consists of individuals, citizen groups, nonprofit organizations, businesses and agencies from around the state that share an interest in community and urban forestry. We are a nonprofit organization which helps communities strengthen their urban forestry efforts by serving as a resource, a forum for networking and discussion, and an advocate of the urban forest. The Council seeks to encourage and support communities in their urban forest management efforts. Our members promote the benefits of urban forest management and healthy community forests. Who is eligible to enter the North Carolina Urban Forestry Awards? The awards are open to all individuals, organizations, corporations, and institutions whose work has set an example of excellence in urban and community forestry. The nomination must: Result in significant enhancement of the urban forest; Represent a significant change for the betterment of the resource; Have been done in the last three years. Entries will be judged for impact, innovation and the degree to which the work serves as a worthy example for others to follow. When are awards given? Entry contestants will be notified of judges results in writing by July 31, Award recipients will be recognized at the N.C. Urban Forest Council s 2017 Annual Conference Awards Luncheon on September 14, 2017 in Raleigh. Details will be sent to award winners. What awards are available? The Urban Forest Council will present one Grand Award over all categories and select one Merit Award that will be given in each of the following categories: Outstanding Tree Board or Urban Forestry Committee; Outstanding Project; Outstanding Individual; and Outstanding Professional. A Tree City USA of the Year will also be selected by a special committee from the N.C. Forest Service. There is no need to apply for this award as the winner will be selected from the 2016 Tree City USA applications.

3 Page 3 Entry Categories Outstanding Tree Board or Urban Forestry Committee Given to the local board or committee that has made outstanding accomplishments in completing urban forestry projects, provided exemplary leadership, and/or made significant progress in meeting the goals of their local urban forestry program. Outstanding Individual Recognizes an individual that has been instrumental in organizing or motivating urban forestry activities within a community. Nominees include community leaders, elected officials, exceptional volunteers, local non-profit organizers, and concerned citizens. Outstanding Project Recognizes an outstanding single project which has made a positive impact on the urban forest. Particular consideration will be given to projects that can be copied or adapted for use by other communities. Outstanding Professional Recognizes an individual who works for an organization whose business is related to urban forestry (arboriculture, horticulture, nursery, grounds manager, etc.). The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the urban forestry effort at the local, regional, or state level. Nominees include municipal foresters/ arborists, private arborists, utility arborists, growers and educators. Tree City USA of the Year The Tree City USA of the Year will be selected from communities that exemplify, through their reported activities, improved care of their community forests, advancement in urban forestry practices and increased public awareness of the many benefits of a well managed urban forest Tree City USA of the Year winner, Town of Indian Trail

4 2016 Urban Forestry Award Winners Page 4 Outstanding Project Award City of Sanford A well designed streetscape helps define an area s character and create distinctive sense of place. Streets define how a city presents itself to the public. An attractive and cohesive streetscape is a vital part of a city s physical appeal and success. The City of Sanford Downtown Streetscape initiative is a two-year project designed to create an improved pedestrian environment, enhanced parking, landscaping and street amenities. The effort promotes the economic and social development of neighborhood commercial aeas through renovation and improving the quality of our streetscapes, creating a greener, more friendly environment in which citizens live, work and play. More than 145 trees were planted to create urban canopies that provide shade without blocking storefronts. Outstanding Individual Award Bill Akers with Akers Tree Movers, Inc. Bill has worked for the past 16 years on preserving trees through relocation. Even though tree moving is his business, he is driven by his passion for tree preservation and has a large nursery of rescue trees. He spaded trees from areas that were scheduled to be cleared for development and added them to this nursery to be planted in a better site. He has been a crucial part in Wilmington s Arbor Day celebration for the past five years by donating his services and providing trees. During the events, Mr. Akers team help educate the children and volunteers about tree preservation, as well as installing the trees and taking care of the initial maintenance. Outstanding Professional Award John Sugg John is the owner of Treefull Communities and over the past 16 years has worked with 33 different communities in NC and on 70 projects that planted thousands of trees and inventoried tens of thousands of trees across the region. He has assisted many communities with the Urban & Community Forestry grant applications and worked on numerous urban forest inventories and reports. There are many small towns in NC that would have been unable to carry out an inventory with their limited budget without John. John was not only the first person in NC to use Talking2Trees inventory application, but he was instrumental in its development. He has recently added the skill of Urban Forest Strike Team member to his resume. John has gone out of his way to learn new technologies and a willingness to search for better ways to bring urban forest management to our NC communities. Outstanding Tree Board or Urban Forestry Committee City of Wilson Appearance Commission Wilson s Appearance Commission has worked closely with the city arborist, city council and other public and private organizations to coordinate all of the activities that involve trees...everything from tree planting, inventories and surveys, project plan approval, and education. They have helped initiate a project within the city using Urban Offsets. This has led to a partnership with Duke University where Duke students and faculty will have access to the data gathered by Urban Offsets project to integrate into research projects on community health and sustainability. With this program in place the City of Wilson has planted 50 trees. Wilson is the first city in the U.S to generate carbon offsets from urban trees and the first to transform those trees into financial assets. And none of this would have been possible without the forward thinking and effort of the Appearance Commission. Tree City USA of the Year Town of Cramerton To be awarded Tree City of the Year, Cramerton was selected by the North Carolina Forest Service from all Tree City USA s in NC which received a Growth Award for their 2015 efforts, a field of 13. Entries were judged for impact, quality, innovation and the degree to which the work serves as a worthy example for others to follow. Cramerton had several efforts which increases their management capacity, improving their ability to manage and maintain their urban forest.

5 Page 5 Entry Guidelines 1. Please complete the application form on pages 6-7 of this booklet. Only one entry per application. Please type or neatly print. 2. Submit a 150-word maximum executive summary on a separate sheet with your application. This must be a comprehensive discussion of the project, which will be used as a press release, at the awards banquet, and in future brochures. 3. Submit a 500-word maximum project description on a separate sheet with your application. Project descriptions for tree board, individual and professional categories should describe the work, its history, and impact. Project descriptions for the projects category should explain the objective, plan of action, budget, results and impact of the project. 4. Submit any photographs illustrating various aspects of the work of the nominee. Before and after photographs are helpful as well as those illustrating people involved in the project. All photos and images must be submitted digitally on a CD: The preferred image resolution for photos is at least 300 dpi. Images may be vertical or horizontal (landscape). Images should be in JPEG format. Rename each image file with project name and number them to match your descriptions on page 7 of application form. Write your nominee/project name on the CD. 5. Additional supporting documentation including press clippings, printed pieces (brochures, booklets, etc.) and letters of commendation are encouraged, but shall be limited to 5 additional pages. 6. Application forms, images and supporting documentation must be received no later than 5 p.m. on June 30, Late or incomplete entries will not be accepted and materials will not be returned. Winning Strategies for Applicants Project Description: Be concise you are only allowed 500 words for your project description! You want to convey to the judges the impact, quality, innovation and the degree to which the work serves as a worthy example for others to follow. Images: Submitted photos should be of the highest quality possible. Choose photos that show a complete understanding of the project. Where applicable, Before and After photos will give judges an even greater understanding of the scope of the project. Newspaper articles, etc. can be scanned and saved to a CD as well. Submitted images will not be returned. Description of Image: Please limit photo descriptions to the space allowed on the entry form. Mail applications to: NC Urban Forest Council PO Box Raleigh, NC Electronic submissions are encourage and should be sent to: Leslie Moorman ncufc1@gmail.com Be sure to send application as a single pdf document, with photos attached to the .

6 2017 North Carolina Urban Forestry Awards Entry Form Page 6 A Entry Form Please complete parts A, B, and C. Deadline is June 30, 2017 Category (choose one): Tree Board or Urban Forestry Committee Outstanding Individual Outstanding Project Outstanding Professional Name of tree board/committee, project or individual (as it should appear on award plaque): Complete contact information for nominee: Name: Street/P.O. Box: City, State, Zip: Business Phone: Home Phone: Address: Name of person submitting nomination: Your complete contact information: Street/P.O. Box: City, State, Zip: Business Phone: Home Phone: Fax Number: Address: All of the information above is accurate and I release entry material to NC Urban Forest Council for media use and other purposes NCUFC deems appropriate. Signature of Release: B Executive Summary and Project Description: Please type on separate sheets, using 10 point font or larger, a 150-word maximum executive summary and a 500-word maximum project description.

7 Page 7 C Image Description (photos, scanned items, etc.): Images will not be returned. 1. File name: Description: 2. File name: Description: 3. File name: Description: 4. File name: Description: 5. File name: Description: 6. File name: Description: 7. File name: Description: 8. File name: Description: 9. File name: Description: 10. File name: Description: Mail to: Leslie Moorman NC Urban Forest Council PO Box Raleigh, NC ncufc1@gmail.com