Save the Redwoods League

2018 Elizabeth Craig Weaver Proctor Medal

In recognition of 100 years of unwavering dedication to, and the protection and restoration of, ancient coast redwood and giant sequoia forests to ensure their survival forever.

Proposed by: Piedmont Garden Club, Zone XII

In 1918, concerned citizens formed Save the Redwoods League to conserve and protect the five percent of the old-growth coast redwood and giant sequoia forests that had survived the Gold Rush and California’s explosive demand for timber. Over the next 100 years the League, its members, and dedicated partners saved much of what remains of the ancient redwood forest lands. The League has protected more than 200,000 acres of contiguous old-growth forest that holds groves of Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia) and Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood), including the 5,100 acre Garden Club of America Grove. They helped form the California State Park system, creating and expanding more than 40 state parks and encouraging the public to discover these remarkable places. In recent years League-sponsored, innovative scientific studies have revealed the importance of these forests in mitigating climate change and have led to improved forest stewardship and restoration. For a century, the League has served to protect and restore these ancient forest lands and connect people with their beauty so that these wonders of the natural world may flourish.

The Elizabeth Craig Weaver Proctor Medal is awarded, by specific request, to non-members for exemplary service and creative vision in any field related to The Garden Club of America’s special interests.

Elizabeth Craig Weaver Proctor (1918–2014) was a member of The Garden Club of Nashville, Zone IX, a GCA director and GCA Executive Committee vice president. She served on the Nominating, Literary, and Founders Fund committees and chaired the Public Relations and Visiting Gardens committees. She was instrumental in the relocation of the Howe Garden to Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in 1968 and was a two-term mayor of the city of Belle Meade. She received the Zone IX Creative Leadership Award in 1982 and the GCA’s Amy Angell Collier Montague Medal for outstanding civic achievement in 1991. Elizabeth served on the boards of the American Horticultural Society, Mount Vernon, and Historic Kenmore in Virginia. The award was originally known as the Special Citation (1963–2003). It was endowed by the Elizabeth Craig Weaver Proctor Charitable Foundation in June 2003 and first awarded in 2004.

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