The Norman Park Foundation - Nonprofit Organization (annual budget less than $100,000) Award for Education & Promotion

Labor constraints and a tight city budget were adding up to trouble for many of the new tree planting sites the City of Norman had created in recent years. The city forester found the help he desperately needed when the Norman Park Foundation stepped up and answered the call in a big way.

It formed and trained 27 "Tree Tenders", members of a volunteer tree care group that plants, mulches, weeds, prunes, re-prunes and brings problems to the city forester's attention. Many trees that would've died have thrived, and catastrophic problems have been identified and averted, allowing Norman's green canopy to continue growing.

The judges said this was an innovative and successful way of getting the help the urban forester truly needed. We hope the winning example of the Norman Park Foundation's "Tree Tenders" continues to branch out as good news for urban forests in Oklahoma.