NC Urban Forestry Awards
2025 Nominations Are Open!
Now is your chance to nominate an outstanding individual, professional, program, or project to recognize their excellence work for our community/urban forests.
Please fill out the 2025 Nomination Application.
Nominations are due Monday, August 26, 2025.
Every year the North Carolina Urban Forest Council is honored to present statewide Urban Forestry Awards. This award program recognizes communities, organizations, and individuals for their outstanding work in protecting and enhancing our community/urban forests. Additionally, we showcase these annual awards to broaden community awareness about the importance of each recipient's work for our forest resources.
The nomination categories are as follows:
- 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/volunteer 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. Specifically, the Board is looking for nominations that result in significant enhancement of the urban forest; represent a significant change for the betterment of the resource; and have been completed during the last three years.
- 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.
We welcome nominations for individuals, organizations, corporations, and institutions that have displayed excellence in their urban and community forestry practice.
2024 Award Recipient
At our 15th Annual Great NC Tree Conference in Greensboro, Executive Director Kim Strazisar presented the Outstanding Individual award to Leslie Moorman. This award honored Leslie's work and dediction to NCUFC during her 10-year tenure as Executive Director, and her continued support on the Board of Directors after she moved to a new position as Urban Forester for the City of Cary.
Past Awardees
The Outstanding Program or Project in 2022 was presented to the NC Bradford Pear Bounty Program. NCUFC delivered this award to Dr. Kelly Oten of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and Tara Moore of North Carolina Wildlife Federation. Together these women spearheaded a program that is reducing the presence of invasive Bradford pear trees across the state.
The Outstanding Professional in 2022 was presented to Liz Riley of Alamance Community College. This award honored Liz's implementation of the Arboriculutre Certificate and Apprenticeship Program, a 16-week training curricululm that helps novice urban foresters succeed in the field.
The Outstanding Volunteer in 2022 was presented to Connie Parker of Alliance for Cape Fear Trees. The Council presented this award in recognition of Connie's steadfast dedication to tree advocacy and community engagement throughout the City of Wilmington.
The City of Wilson’s Appearance Commission worked closely with its city arborist, city council, and other public and private organizations to coordinate all of their activities that involved trees. This means everything from tree planting, inventories, and surveys to project planning approval, and education. This Commission used Urban Offsets to initiate the City of Wilson's project. For these efforts, the Wilson Appearance Commission received the Outstanding Tree Board Award in 2016.
The Outstanding Individual Award in 2015 was presented to Ken King. Ken has always been the hands-on, driving force behind the Town of Oriental's Tree Board. His dedication to the restoration of Oriental's tree canopy has made Ken a role model for tree-related volunteers across the state.
The City of Rocky Mount received the Outstanding Project Award in 2014 for its outstanding level of effort incorporating proper urban tree species into its revitalized streetscape. City staff set a commendable example of dedication to the right tree in the right place concept throughout the project's planning, installation, and maintenance stages.
