GCA Medals: Frances K. Hutchinson Medal

The Frances K. Hutchinson Medal is awarded to figures of national importance for distinguished service to conservation.

Selection: By joint recommendation of the chair of the Conservation Committee and the Awards Committee.

If the Awards Committee selects a candidate other than the one recommended by the Conservation Committee chair, the Awards Committee choice will prevail and immediately notify the Conservation Committee chair of the selection.

History: The Francis K. Hutchinson Medal was designed in 1940 by Spaulding Gorham, Chicago, and was presented and endowed by the Lake Geneva Garden Club in memory of its founder, Mrs. Charles L. Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson was an outstanding horticulturalist, naturalist, and conservationist. She created a seventy-two acre woodland sanctuary, "Wychwood", opened to the public in 1926 and used for study by University of Chicago botany students. She also wrote three books contributing to classification and preservation of the Lake Geneva region native birds and plants.

Award description on the certificate: For distinguished conservation service

See Recipients