Troop 325 Awards and Recognition
Troop 325 Wins Prestigious Hornaday Award
Santa Clara County Council Annual Recognition Dinner
Santa Clara Marriot
February 8th, 2008
On this day, Troop 325 was the recipient of a very unique and special award, the Hornaday Award.
The Hornaday Awards program was created to recognize those that have made significant contributions to conservation. It was begun way back in 1914 by Dr. William T. Hornaday, director of the New York Zoological Park and founder of the National Zoo in Washington D.C.
The purpose of the award is to challenge Americans to work constructively for wildlife conservation, habitat protection and environmental awareness. The Hornaday Awards are highly prized by those who have received them. The award is limited to truly outstanding efforts, and only about eleven hundred have been awarded since its inception over 90 years ago. They are considered the "Olympic Awards of Conservation".
Troop 325 earned this award for its work in an open space known as Moreland Woods Nature Area, part of the Moreland School District here in San Jose. In 1994, Troop 325 Scoutmaster George Denise forged a close relationship with the community in order to help restore and improve the woods, which had previously fallen into disrepair and vandalism. Under George's guidance and through his hard work, Troop 325 was given the opportunity to participate in this exceptional environmental program. It has been the site of twelve Eagle projects, ranging from an artificial creek and pond to planter beds, walkways, and seating areas.
Collectively, over more than a decade, Troop 325 has put over four thousand five hundred man-hours into the Moreland Woods conservation effort. They continue to maintain the area with regular clean-up days and use it as their outdoor meeting place during the summer. It is used by the School District for their annual Renaissance Fair and their Halloween Pumpkin Patch. Teachers use the area for numerous scientific and agricultural projects throughout the year.
The Hornaday Award was presented to the man who was Scoutmaster of Troop 325 for 13 years and who was the driving force behind all the effort that went into earning it - Mr. George Denise.
