Left; Nick Hummingbird, Hahamongna Nursery manager, congratulates Millie Macen-Moore, Top Middle; Matt Redondo, Patagonia Store manager, Bottom Middle; Citizen Activist awardee Richard "Chip" McCarthy, Right; Arroyo Seco Foundation founder Tim Brick

Legendary Craftsman arts professor and author Robert Winter, 92, was honored Wednesday evening by the Arroyo Seco Foundation with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The former Occidental College professor and Arthur G. Coons Professor of the History of Ideas, Emeritus, is the author of 14 books and countless articles on the history of life in the Arroyo Seco.

‘When I told him we were giving him this award,” said Arroyo Seco Foundation Chair Tom Seifert, “he took my hand, and he cried.”

“He said, ‘I will cherish this. This is one of the greatest honors of my life,’” Seifert told the nearly 50 attendees of the Arroyo Verde Awards at the South Pasadena Public Library. Winter, who suffers from an arthritic condition, was unable to attend the awards ceremony in person.

Winter was one of seven members of the organization who were honored by the Foundation for their work at the Arroyo Verde Awards ceremony held in the South Pasadena Public Library.

According to Foundation founder Tim Brick, the Arroyo Verde awards are given every year to people, organizations and agencies who have made an outstanding contribution to protecting the local environment, particularly the Arroyo Seco and neighboring communities.

These awards are the most prestigious environmental awards in our region, Brick said. Wednesday’s event was the 12th yearly awards ceremony for the Foundation.

As Brick explained, the Foundation is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the Arroyo Seco Watershed, the canyon running along the east side of La Cañada and the west sides of Pasadena and Altadena, and down to South Pasadena, and south to Los Angeles. The Arroyo Seco Foundation has worked for more than 25 years to “bring together these local communities to work to restore the natural system and the natural resource values of the Arroyo,” said Brick.

“This is the most celebrated Canyon in the Los Angeles area, and has immense environmental value,” Brick added.

Susan Hoskins, principal at Landscape Integrity Films and Education, winner of the Best Advocacy Awards, said, “ I am very honored. This is very generous.”

The two year-old company company produces educational films about California native plants, water conservation and supporting biodiversity, said Hoskins.

Other winners were Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio, and Patagonia, who were awarded a Greening the Arroyo Award.

The Patagonia company, which has a store in Pasadena recently announced it will be donating all of its earnings from this year’s Black Friday shopping day to various non-profit environmental groups.

Jo Dominguez was awarded Best Volunteer; and Richard “Chip” McCarthy, a teacher at Franklin High School in Highland Park, was given the Citizen Activist award.

Pasadena Assistant City Manager Nicholas Rodriguez was given the Public Official award.

Seifert also spoke highly of founder Tim Brick, saying, “He is the reason why I am the chair of this foundation.”

Added Seifert, “I am so proud to be a part of this organization. It is so rewarding and there are so many achievements, like the restoration of the Arroyo Seco tributary. We are definitely on the major threshold of great things here.”

The Arroyo Seco Foundation was founded by Charles Lummis more than one hundred years ago to preserve and promote the Arroyo Seco, one of Southern California’s greatest natural treasures.

After a lapse of many decades, the Arroyo Seco Foundation was revived in 1989 to continue that vision. Since then, Foundation members have planted several thousand native trees in the Arroyo, participated in and led major Arroyo planning efforts, educated the public about the riches of the Arroyo, and most importantly worked to restore and enhance the natural splendor of the Arroyo for future generations.

The Foundation says it has brought over $25 million in funding into the Arroyo Seco Watershed.

For more about the Arroyo Seco Foundation, see http://www.arroyoseco.org/about.htm.