These fantastic volunteers are what make our programs possible. Thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who have donated your time to make trees the answer!
Barbara Richardson received the 2016 Citizen Forester of the Year award! Check her out in this article from Deseret News:
PARK CITY — Barbara Richardson, a volunteer with Wasatch Back Trees, has received the 2016 Citizen Forester of the Year award.
“It came as no big surprise to us at Wasatch Back Trees that Barbara won the award,” Jason Barto, the organization’s founder, said in a statement. “She is a model volunteer. I wish I could have 10 of her.”
After 18 years as a landscape designer, Richardson retired to Kamas in 2013 still craving a way to connect to nature. She and Barto spearheaded a project to prune and care for the old apple trees dotting the Kamas Valley and then share their bounty.
For the last two years, Richardson has done winter prunings to help prepare the apple trees for a better harvest, and under her leadership, the organization’s Fruit Nuts program led to nearly 2,000 pounds of apples being donated to hungry families in 2016.
In addition, nearly 100 trees on public property throughout the area have been cared for by Summit County Jail inmates with Richardson’s mentoring. The men have participated in dozens of tree grubbings, mulchings, weedings, plantings, prunings and harvests.
Hannah Bleak donated her time, impressive creativity, and graphic design talent to create our new ReLEAF UTAH logo. Hannah has been working in the fine art and graphic design world since 2015, doing everything from painting portraits to full graphic branding. She spends her time learning new forms of art and has taken classes on bookbinding, leatherworking, and cyanotype. When she’s not busy being a workaholic, she’s out hugging trees with her family. We are so grateful to have Hannah as part of our team, her work means the world to us!
