Douglas Brinkley, PhD

2021 Frances K. Hutchinson Medal

For bestselling books documenting the history of the conservation movement and the founding of our national parks, educating scores about protecting our natural environment.

Proposed by: Country Garden Club, Zone X

Best-selling author of over 30 books, historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the American environmental movement in his Wilderness Trilogy: The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960, and Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America. Brinkley brings to life the evolution of conservation efforts and the beginnings of the national parks, focusing on the key individuals and organizations, including members of The Garden Club of America, who protected our national heritage. His newest book on Rachel Carson documents the transition from a focus on protection of land to the modern environmental movement. His writing gives us insight into the successes and setbacks of the early environmentalists, providing a guide for approaching future conservation initiatives. His stories of these early environmentalists inspire us, reinforce our efforts, and strengthen our knowledge of the past to help us look boldly into the future.

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

The Francis K. Hutchinson Medal was endowed by the Lake Geneva Garden Club, Zone XI, in memory of its founder, Francis Kinsley Hutchinson (Mrs. Charles Lawrence Hutchinson: 1857–1936) who was an avid horticulturist, naturalist, and conservationist. At her home, Wychwood, Frances created a 73-acre woodland sanctuary, which she donated to the University of Chicago and which served as a resource for scientific study for faculty and students until the trust ended and the property was subsequently subdivided. She was the author of the Wychwood country home trilogy on the natural history of the Lake Geneva region. She was president of the Wildflower Preservation Society, Illinois Chapter. The medal was designed by Spaulding-Gorham, Inc. in 1940.

See other winners of this medal