Please note: The Conservation Fund is not currently accepting applications for American Greenways grants. Check back periodically for status updates.

2011 Greenways Program Award & Grant Recipients

The Kodak American Greenways Program is the nation’s longest running community-based grants program that expands and enhances our nation’s network of greenways. Greenways—corridors of protected public and private lands—link recreational, cultural, and natural features and provide multiple public benefits. They provide paths for people and wildlife; protect forests, wetlands and grasslands; and improve the quality of life for everyone.

Eastman Kodak Company, The Conservation Fund and the National Geographic Society team up each year to present the Kodak American Greenways Awards Program. Since the program’s inception, nearly $900,000 has been granted to over 700 organizations in all 50 states.

The 2011 Kodak Greenways Program  presented four awards to individuals and organizations for exemplary leadership in the enhancement of our nation’s outdoor heritage. Awards were presented at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington D.C. in October.

Awards

Photo: Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison receives the Kodak American Greenway Award at a ceremony in Texas. Pictured (from left): Dr. Steve Bullard, Dean of the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture; Nacogdoches Mayor Roger VanHorn; Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (recipient) and Julie Shackelford, Texas Program Director, The Conservation Fund.

The 2011 award recipients are:

• Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, United States Senator for Texas and a staunch leader over the past 15 years for the conservation of the state’s finest natural assets both for their ecological value as well as their potential to generate an economic return. Her support for the protection of critical forest watershed lands, sustainably managed working forests and the state’s cultural heritage has enhanced various iconic landscapes including the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge, the Texas Pineywoods region and El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.

• Karl Dean, Mayor of the City of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., who has embarked upon an ambitious and comprehensive open space plan that will better connect residents from city, suburb and rural areas to their natural and cultural assets. The greenway linkages recommended in the Nashville Open Space Plan are key elements to improving public safety, encouraging physical activity and promoting a high quality of life.

• Michael A. Nutter, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, whose bold vision to transform Philadelphia into the greenest city in the United States was initiated with the launch of Greenworks Philadelphia in 2009. Under Mayor Nutter’s leadership, the City is moving to use its green infrastructure approach not only to improve water quality but also to connect residents to parks and green spaces and drive economic redevelopment in some of the city’s most distressed neighborhoods.

• Potomac Conservancy, an instrumental force for the stewardship and conservation of the Potomac River, often referred to as, “The Nation’s River.” In the face of relentless regional development and population growth over the last two decades, the Potomac Conservancy has been an effective voice for protecting and extending the Potomac River’s green and natural shorelines. Through voluntary land protection and restoration, hands-on education on land and water resource stewardship, and community engagement programs, the Conservancy is bringing home the message and means for the region’s residents to take effective action.

Grants

One major element of the Program involves “seed” grant awards to organizations that are growing our nation's network of greenways, blueways, trails and natural areas. Twenty-one local nonprofits and public agencies received grants to support local trail and open space projects that not only enhance greenways but also create economic benefits for their communities. The grant recipients include:

• The Manchester Downtown Development Authority, for the construction of a pedestrian bridge over the historic River Raisin Mill Pond, which will link Manchester’s commercial downtown with two miles of walking and biking trails, built on former NYCRR rail bed.
• The San Diego River Park Foundation, for a Mission Valley River trail map focused on the most urban portion of the San Diego River watershed, highlighting the crucial recreational benefits available to members of these communities.

• The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, for a study to determine the impact of the Seminole County trail systems on consumer spending and job creation.

If you have any further questions, please email kodakawards@conservationfund.org

Partners

Eastman Kodak Company has been a leader in photography for more than 100 years. Today, as the world's imaging leader, it sets the standard in traditional picture taking, while working to bring the latest in digital imaging technologies to the marketplace. Kodak was the recipient of the 1999 World Environment Center Gold Medal for International Corporate Environmental Achievement, and has earned ISO 14001 registration for its corporate environmental management system.

National Geographic Society is the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization. Since 1890 the Society has supported more than 9,000 explorations and research projects, adding to knowledge of earth, sea, and sky.