SER 2017 AWARDS CELEBRATION AWARDS COMMITTEE Jim Furnish

SER 2017 AWARDS CELEBRATION AWARDS COMMITTEE: Jim Furnish SER Board Member Forestry Consultant Rockville, Maryland USA Mary Beth Mc. Cormack SER Board Member Cleveland Montessori School Cleveland, Ohio USA Dave Polster SER Board Member Polster Environmental Services Ltd. Duncan, British Columbia Canada SER Staff Support: Levi Wickwire and Marguerite Nutter

Society for Ecological Restoration Every two years, in conjunction with the SER World Conference on Ecological Restoration, the Society recognizes individuals or organizations who have made outstanding achievements in advancing the craft, knowledge, and public awareness of ecological restoration. Recipients are selected by the SER Awards Committee on the basis of nominations received during an open nomination period. Tonight we are pleased to formally recognize our 2017 winners. 2

Society for Ecological Restoration Communication Award The Communication Award recognizes individuals or organizations who have made a significant impact in advancing theory, practice, and/or public awareness of restoration through innovative communications strategies, tools, or technologies. Photo courtesy of Ce. RSER 3

Society for Ecological Restoration Dr. Junguo Liu Dr. Liu founded two ecological restoration organizations in China – the Society for Ecological Rehabilitation of Beijing and the Union of Societies for Ecological Restoration and Environmental Protection on his own initiative and principally by his own efforts. Photo courtesy of Andre Clewell 4

Society for Ecological Restoration Through his vision, efforts and accomplishments, Dr. Liu brought ecological restoration to the forefront as a critically needed discipline in China. Dr. Liu surmounted enormous institutional obstacles in creating Photo courtesy of Andre Clewell restoration societies for the Junguo with Andre Clewell, former SER Bd. Chair first time in China. 5

Society for Ecological Restoration Founded in 2015, Society for Ecological Rehabilitation of Beijing has more than 100 members and is the first society recognized by the Chinese government which specifically focuses on ecological restoration. Comprised of more than 20 organizations with a combined membership of more than 30, 000 members, the Union of Societies for Ecological Restoration and Environmental Protection is the first officially recognized federation of Chinese organizations that is specifically focused on the environment and ecology. Photo courtesy of Andre Clewell 6

Society for Ecological Restoration Full Circle Award The Full Circle Award is given in recognition of restoration projects that incorporate the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples in significant ways and reflect a balance between indigenous and non indigenous knowledge and techniques in the project’s design and implementation. 7

Society for Ecological Restoration Ramesh Venkataraman, Founder CR Hanumanth, Project Committee Junglescapes (www. junglescapes. org) is a grassroots ecological restoration NGO that has been working on restoring deciduous forests in South India for the last 8 years. Junglescapes adopts a community based model of restoration where members of local indigenous communities are active partners in the restoration projects. 8

Society for Ecological Restoration “Junglescapes has done some incredible work on restoration of degraded forest land with local community participation. They established decentralized nurseries the community was involved in selecting the plants they wanted to see in their landscape, and the seedlings were planted and protected by the community members. ” Dr. Siddappa Setty, Fellow (Associate Professor) Bangalore, India Photo courtesy of Junglescapes Seedball Making at Lokkere Village 9

Society for Ecological Restoration Photo courtesy of Junglescapes Kids Eco Club at Lokkere Village Working with members of 4 villages, Junglescapes has restored around 1, 000 hectares of degraded forests. Due to this initiative, the attitude of the community towards the forests has undergone a positive change. They have voluntarily stopped activities like cattle grazing and firewood collection. The project activity also provides year round employment as compared to the earlier seasonal employment in the local farms. 10

Society for Ecological Restoration Theodore M. Sperry Award Theodore M. Sperry was an American botanist and ecologist who pioneered early efforts to restore tallgrass prairie in the Midwestern United States. This award honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to the science and/or practice of ecological restoration.

Society for Ecological Restoration Karen Holl University of California, Santa Cruz United States Rakan “Zak” Zahawi University of California, Santa Cruz United States 12

Society for Ecological Restoration Karen Holl and Zak Zahawi’s Work Embodies the True Spirit of the Sperry Award Karen Holl and Zak Zahawi have demonstrated that ecological theory can be used to create restoration strategies that meet the large scale challenges and opportunities now confronting our discipline. Leighton Reid Missouri Botanical Garden St Louis, MO, United States 13

Society for Ecological Restoration Broad scale restoration costs can be exorbitant, but Karen and Zak applied methods in Costa Rica that are both efficient and effective. Planted tree islands mimic natural succession, and over time they expand coalesce to create secondary forests that are as diverse as conventional tree plantations, but with a much lower price tag. Karen Holl and Zak Zahawi 14

Society for Ecological Restoration John Rieger Award Named for the Society’s first president, the John Rieger Award acknowledges those who have dedicated their time and skills to advancing the science and/or practice of ecological restoration through the development of SER. 15

Society for Ecological Restoration Francisco “Paco” Comí n Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologí a CSIC Zaragoza, Spain 16

Society for Ecological Restoration “Paco is a true pioneer in restoration and great personality in the restoration community. He played an important role in the formation of SER Europe, besides being a bridge builder with the North and South American continent restorationists. ” Kris Decleer Research Institute for Nature & Forest Brussels, Belgium Paco and Mrs. Comí n 17

Society for Ecological Restoration “Since I met Paco in 1992 at the 4 th INTECOL Wetland conference, I have known him as a passionate and tireless supporter of ecological restoration. He organized the first world conference on ecological restoration in Zaragoza Spain … [and] has organized many short courses in Zaragoza and elsewhere on the subject. ” William J. Mitsch Florida Gulf Coast University Bonita Springs, FL United States 18

Society for Ecological Restoration Regional Awards SOBRE Suzana and Claudio Padua President and Vice President IPÊ, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas Photo courtesy of IPE 19

Society for Ecological Restoration Photo courtesy of IPE We believe IPE has the most consistent and science based work in favor of threatened wildlife conservation and habitat/ landscape restoration. They link research to the practice with very strong and real community engagement. Vera Lex Engel, SER 2017 Chair 20

Society for Ecological Restoration Since the 90’s, IPE has worked with rural settlements (landless people who have been settled by the government) in the Pontal do Paranapanema region to restore the habitats of the black lion tamarin, the jaguar and the tapir, using methods that also generate income for the landholders. They have seen excellent results in the quality and quantity of restored lands around protected areas. Photo courtesy IPE Black Lion Tamarin Vera Lex Engel, SER 2017 Chair 21

Society for Ecological Restoration Regional Awards SIACRE William Gerardo Vargas founding member Red Colombiana de Restauracion Ecologica (REDCRE)

Society for Ecological Restoration Vargas made outstanding contributions to advancing ecological restoration in the entire SIACRE region. Vargas has taken an exemplary approach to engaging communities in rural, mixed-use landscapes to achieve restoration outcomes responsive to local socioeconomic concerns; a model for all practitioners.