New England Wild Flower Society convened its 2010 Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 7, at 1:30 p.m. After the business meeting of the corporation, Executive Director Debbi Edelstein reviewed the year's accomplishments and presented new initiatives. Following this presentation the annual awards were presented.

Each year, New England Wild Flower Society honors organizations and individuals who have demonstrated creative vision and exceptional achievement in furthering the Society's conservation goals. The Society  recognized the following individuals through the awards listed:

The Education Award is given to an individual or a group for original and significant work that promotes public understanding and appreciation of temperate North American plants. William Cullina was recognized for his life-long dedication to promoting public understanding and appreciation of temperate North American plants and their immeasurable value for our earth’s biodiversity. New England Wildflower Society could once claim Bill as one of its own when he was Director of Nursery and Plant Propagator from 1995 to 2005. Now his official title is Director of Horticulture and Plant Curator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. However, he wears many professional hats; consultant, photographer, freelance author, lecturer and teacher.  With this award, the Socity recognized his extraordinary contributions as an educator. Bill is an outstanding speaker, addressing diverse audiences about the ecology, growth and propagation of woody and herbaceous native plants. He is  also author of several award-winning books and most recently won the 2009 American Horticultural Society’s Book Award.

State Awards are given to an individual, group, or organization within a New England state for a significant contribution to the preservation of native plants and/or their habitats within that state. Preference is given to work that has impact throughout a state.

The Connecticut State Award was given to John Picard for his leadership at Willard Island, working with more than 100 volunteers from throughout CT converging in Hammonasset State Park to do battle with a 10-acre tangle of invasive species, including oriental bittersweet, Japanese honeysuckle, autumn olive, barberry, and others.

The Maine State Award was given to Andrew Cutko, ecologist, who co-authored the recently published Natural Landscapes of Maine and worked with larger timber companies in ME to survey their lands for uncommon or exemplary natural communities and rare plants, thereby protecting many of Maine’s outstanding botanical features.

The Massachusetts State Award was given to Kathy Wilensky. As a dedicated volunteer for the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program for 7 years, she coordinated the state plant watch list of over 150 species, keeping staff aware of uncommon plants that may be of conservation concern in the future. The list is also important for keeping global tallies of plants which have their greatest abundance in MA but are limited in their global range.

The New Hampshire State Award was given to Joann Hoy, mentor, educator, editor, collaborator, peer, and ultimately “a botanist’s botanist”.  She is the host of “Lunch with Joann” where she moderates the discussion of a topic of interest or a recent scientific article or publication. She is a long-standing member of the New England Plant Conservation Program’s New Hampshire Task Force and volunteers to monitor numerous rare plant locations. She also volunteers for numerous activities with The Nature Conservancy and the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau. She is also a scientific editor and does contract work for the MA and ME Natural Heritage programs. 

The Rhode Island State Award was given to Carl Sawyer, Research Associate in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island, where he quietly and unselfishly shares his knowledge and skills in plant science, taxonomy plant communities and conservation with students, colleagues, non-profit conservation organizations and state agencies.  

The Vermont State Award was given to Arthur Gilman, who has just completed a new Flora of Vermont, “the most scholarly and professional flora in the history of the state of Vermont.”  He is also a nationally renowned expert on ferns and fern allies especially grape fern. He is past president of the New England Botanical Club, a member of the Vermont Endangered Species Committee, Flora Advisory Group, Vermont Natural Resources Board, and New England Plant Conservation Task Force, to name a few. He is a principal in the firm of Gilman & Briggs Environmental and is noted for his expertise on the distribution of plants relevant to biodiversity conservation.

The Kathryn S. Taylor Award for Private Gardens is given to a privately owned garden of any size displaying significant use of wildflowers and other temperate North American native plants.  The garden must be at least three years old and must exhibit excellence of design and maintenance in all seasons. Mrs. Hewitt’s outstanding home garden in New London, New Hampshire features a masterful combination of New Hampshire natives and regionally listed plants. This large garden, sited on a hill overlooking the mountains, is home to a thriving collection of alpine plants native to New Hampshire and a prodigious patch of Chamaepericlymenum canadense (formerly known as Cornus Canadensis).  In addition to native plants, the garden’s impressive design incorporates New Hampshire native stone along its many winding paths. Polygala paucifolia cascades over the native stone creating a breathtaking show in spring. Newer paths wind their way through the wooded edge of the yard. This exceptional garden serves as an educational laboratory where Mrs. Hewitt enthusiastically shares her horticultural knowledge with local garden clubs, the Garden Conservancy, New England Wild Flower Society and other organizations. 

Service to the Society Awards are given to individuals who have aided the Society in furthering its mission through devoted service in one or more capacities. Betty Wright and Deborah Hellmold were honored this year.

Betty Wright wears many hats at New England Wild Flower Society, working as a plant conservation volunteer, surveying rare species and removing invasive plants. She also serves as an adult guide at Garden in the Woods; collects, cleans, and packages seeds for the seed bank; and “will do just about anything for the conservation department.”

Deborah Hellmold volunteers at Garden in the Woods, donating her time and talents for the weekly bloom board where she collects the data and helps organize the scheduling of new and seasoned volunteers. She also volunteers as a children’s guide and designed most of the costumes which one sees at Earth Day, Fall Family Festival, and other special events in the Garden. The bumble bee, lady bug, ant, butterfly, and tree were all her creations.

Above Photo left to right: Phoebe McCarthy (committee chair), Bill Cullina, Betty Wright, Joanne Hoy, Carl Sawyer, Andrew Cuiko, Deborah Hellmold, Frances Clark (Board of Trustees chair), John Picard, Andrew Gilman, Thelma Hewitt