CTC CommuniTree Awards
2023 Communitree Awards
The CommuniTree Sustainable Urban Forestry Award was presented to Kendra Boot, Riley Krudop, and Dana Coelho.
(Above Picture – Ralph Zentz accepted on behalf of Kendra Boot, David Merriman, Shiloh Hatcher)
The Select Tree Evaluation Program (STEP) commenced in 2001 launching a program to help evaluate new and underutilized trees to grow and survive in Colorado. Each year a new species is chosen and communities or other entities reach out to plant and provide aftercare for the trees. With only a few years off, STEP has been running for over 20 years (Kendra Boot, current Chair)! In 2022, a CSU Intern, Riley Krudop, was hired through the CSU Extension Internship Program (proposal writer Dana Coelho) to gather information and bring light to the evaluation portion of the program. Riley was able to track down a majority of the trees through the amazing help of the participating communities/entities. These details will be shared via a presentation with pictures and general consensus of how certain species are thriving throughout CO. The goal of STEP is to increase the name recognition of select trees and to improve our understanding about their growth characteristics and environmental requirements. This evaluation information should help increase the demand for STEP trees that perform well and encourage nursery production.
The CommuniTree Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Shiloh Hatcher.
Shiloh Hatcher has been dedicated to maintaining, improving, and enhancing the urban forest as the Forestry Manager within the Parks Division of the City of Greeley Colorado’s Culture, Parks, and Recreation Department for over 26 years. His passion, dedication and true love for all things arboriculture are evident in all that he does. He strives everyday to improve the urban forest in our community, and to educate all citizens on the importance of this valuable asset. He has implemented multiple programs to assist the community with the rising costs in maintaining and replenishing the trees within our community.
Mr. Hatcher is also dedicated to education of tree workers and employees across the industry as well as citizens. From hosting annual trainings, to working towards hosting annual certification testing, to guest lecturing at Colorado State University and hosting educational sessions on the City of Greeley’s social media platforms, he strives to educate and promote urban forest health and care. He is well known across the state and sought out for his experience and ideas by peers in the industry.
The CommuniTree Distinguished Service Award was presented to David Merriman
Since 1990, David has significantly contributed to preserving, renewing, and enhancing Colorado’s tree industry. He has actively participated on various local boards and professional organizations, including the Colorado Tree Coalition, and Rocky Mountain ISA. Most recently he has directly been responsible for getting arborists recognized by the Colorado Department of Labor as a skilled trade and has also helped establish a journeymen program for future arborists. This huge accomplishment has aided in raising the industry standard for tree workers. In addition to this, David has been the main donor and supporter of the CTC Arbor Day poster contest. I recently spoke with him about his continued support of the poster contest, and he said “I don’t receive any business from this sponsorship, but it’s important to me because it gets children and adults to think about trees”. This directly raises public awareness and positively promotes our industry. David continues to demonstrate his passion for the tree industry and improving our community one tree at a time.
The CommuniTree Distinguished Service Award was presented to Linda Langelo.
Since 2019, Linda has been focused on educating about tree care and proper tree selection. October 12, 2019, in Julesburg, she assisted Donna Davis in holding an Eastern Colorado Community Forestry Conference and again in 2022 in Otis on October 1. Total tree care was covered from planting to pruning.
After the derecho in 2020, Linda reached out to Donna Davis and was encouraged to apply for the Colorado Reforest Grant for the restoration of trees in Akron and Haxtun. To help leverage the funding from Colorado Reforest Grant in the amount of $4,470 and she applied for two local grants. The Heginbotham Trust gave $2,235.08 and Golden Plains Inc, gave $1,500 specifically for signage. One of the larger signs created is titled Tree Diversity Grows Here. The sign talks about trees diversity benefits biodiversity.
Once Linda was aware of Trees Across Colorado, she reached out to Gertie Grant, and she engaged the town of Julesburg in 2019 and other organizations in Sedgwick County while also contacting other towns in Northeast Colorado. She continues to notify people about a credible resource in Trees Across Colorado and readily available to us.
She has been active in encouraging people to nominate a tree, if they think it can be a champion tree.
She was invited to speak on Plant a Trillion Trees Podcast by Certified Arborists, Eva Monheim and Hal Rosner where she spoke about the Colorado Reforest Grant Project. Then started podcasting through CSU and now has CSU Relentless Gardener Podcast where she has interviewed Alison O’Connor on Tree Care.
CommuniTree Distinguished Service Award was presented to Linda Langelo.
The CommuniTree Awards Program recognizes individuals and organizations that epitomize the mission of the Colorado Tree Coalition through their efforts to preserve, renew and enhance Colorado’s urban and community forests. The three recognition categories and descriptions are:
Ø Two Distinguished Service Awards are given to (1) a professional community forester/arborist and (2) a volunteer that have contributed significantly to the health and sustainability of Colorado’s community forests in the past year
Ø One Sustainable Urban Forestry Award is given to an individual, business, or organization that has fostered evolution in our use of trees and appreciation of the value of trees within our communities as a critical component of resilient and thriving places.
Ø One Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual whose work, over the course of their entire career, has unfailingly served to preserve, renew, and enhance community forests.
If you know someone you feel meets one of these categories and deserves to be recognized and honored for their efforts, please nominate them! Click here for more information and to access the nomination form.