2011 National Arbor Day Awards

The Frederick Law Olmsted Award was given to Shannon Ramsay of Trees Forever, a nonprofit organization in Marion, Iowa. The Olmsted Award is given to honor a lifelong commitment to tree-planting and conservation on a state level. For the past 22 years, Ramsay has been planting trees by the thousands as the founding president and chief executive officer of Trees Forever. Through Ramsay's leadership and vision, Trees Forever engages volunteers and assists community leaders with tree-planting and stewardship programs. The organization works with more than 200 communities and 7,000 volunteers each year to plant trees. Since the organization was founded in 1989, Trees Forever has planted nearly 3 million trees in Iowa and Illinois. Trees Forever also partners with local farmers to showcase how buffers of trees, shrubs and grasses can help purify water and reduce erosion along streams and rivers. Ramsay is a respected leader among tree-planters nationwide, helping to craft national policy with the Alliance for Community Trees.