The Conservation Award is the oldest award given by the Society, and is given annually to an individual or a group for outstanding achievement in furthering the conservation of temperate North American plants and their habitats throughout the New England region.  The impact of the work may also extend beyond that region. The Society proudly presented the 2008 Conservation Award to Jim Wickis of West Street, Medway, MA. 

In making the award, the Society cited Wickis as being an avid Plant Conservation Volunteer (PCV) for the past three years. He monitors rare plants in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and has been involved in management and inventory activities in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. He spent several days in the White Mountains with the Society’s Conservation Department. Wickis was noted as spending more days managing Japanese stiltgrass in Massachusetts than any one Society staff member in 2007 and committed to many days in 2008. Always prompt, prepared and full of terrific team spirit, he has been an exemplary conservationist.

“Jim has also been an Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE) volunteer for many years. He has documented invasive species throughout New England and participated in many of the Society’s weekends in northern New Hampshire, Vermont, and Main. His efforts are an inspiration to other IPANE volunteers and well as to Society staff.”