In 1961 The City Gardens Club established a citation to be presented to a person who had made a significant contribution to the preservation and enhancement of the natural beauty of the country. Recipients include:
2024: To be announced Soon
1972: Herbert Johnson, custodian of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
1966: Carl W. Buchheister, president of the Audubon Society, director of the society’s ecology workshop on Hog Island, Maine
1965: Lady Bird Johnson, for “her interest in conservation and her outstanding contribution to the beautifying of the country”
1964: Rachel Carson (awarded posthumously). The citation read, “More than any other single individual, Rachel Carson awakened the concern of the whole country to the dangers facing all living matter through the widespread misuse of pesticides.”
1963: Two American scientists, for their research on the terrestrial ecosystem of Antarctica.
1961: Mary Lasker, for her leadership of urban beautification projects in New York City and Washington, D.C.