Applications now available for 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards

Do you know a local community garden or community “greening” project that could use $2,000 in free plants? If so, tell them to apply for the 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards.

The Green America Awards were created to give national recognition and thousands of dollars in plants to community groups and organizations that are improving their local environments. The annual awards honor nonprofit groups and organizations that are literally “greening” their communities, parks, schools and public spaces by planting trees, shrubs and other plants. The award program is sponsored by Omaha-Nebraska-based Nature Hills Nursery, an online nursery and garden center with more than 10,000 products available for direct shipping to consumers.

Applications for the 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards are now available online at www.naturehills.com/green_america_awards.aspx. Applicants can also visit the Nature Hills Nursery Facebook page to apply for the Green America Awards.

The winners of the 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be those nonprofit groups and organizations that truly are making a difference in their local communities. The prizes for the winning garden projects are as follows:

Grand Prize: $2,000 in plants
First Prize: $1,250 in plants
Second Prize: $750 in plants
Third Prize: $500 in plants

The plant materials selected by the winners can contain any combination of shade trees, fruit trees, bushes and shrubs, perennials and vegetable seeds available from www.naturehills.com.

Based upon previous years’ results, the winning entries for the 2012 Green America Awards are likely to be local community gardening or landscaping projects that can make the best use of the trees, bushes and shrubs that Nature Hills Nursery will award. Potential 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Award winning projects can be:

Outstanding community gardening projects
Creating a wildlife habitat for birds or animals on donated land that is (or has been) abandoned or neglected
Creating or refurbishing the landscape in a community park
A local soil erosion control plan that utilizes plants to stabilize steep hillside slopes or river banks
The reclamation of an abandoned lot with the creation of a fruit orchard that will provide much needed food to nearby low-income residents

Applications for the 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be accepted nationwide until June 17, 2012.

From all of the entries, eight semi-finalists will be selected by Nature Hills Nursery. The list of semi-finalists will be posted on the Green America Awards tab linked to the Nature Hills Nursery Facebook page.

The actual winners of the 2012 Green America Awards will be determined by votes for each semi-finalist on the Nature Hills Nursery Facebook page. The voting will proceed in a series of head-to-head contests between pairs of semi-finalists. The winner in each head-to-head vote will advance to the next round.

“This year, we wanted to give the contest a social media component by opening up the final selection of winners to the public via our Facebook page,” said Jeffrey Dinslage, president of Nature Hills Nursery. “We encourage all of the semi-finalists to contact their own friends, members, and social networks to lobby for votes. We want to create an online ‘buzz’ for all of the wonderful gardens.”

To cast a vote for a Green America Awards semi-finalist, a person must “Like” Nature Hills Nursery on Facebook and then click on the entrant of his or her choice to cast a vote.

To enter the 2012 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards competition, visit  www.naturehills.com/green_america_awards.aspx or the Nature Hills Nursery Facebook page.