Arborist to receive statewide award

Bruce Hoffman of McCook, driving the tractor above to seed native grasses and wildflowers at McCook’s “prairie arboretum,” will receive the 2018 “Blazing Star” award from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum will bestow its 2018 “Blazing Star” award on McCook arborist Bruce Hoffman, in part for his leadership in and contribution and dedication to McCook’s “Prairie Arboretum and Study Center” project.

The “Blazing Star” is presented to “an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution toward advancing the horticultural use of native plants or the restoration of native plant communities in Nebraska.”

The Statewide Arboretum plans its annual awards reception in Lincoln Friday, Dec. 7, from 2-4 p.m. in Pilgrim Hall of First Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 D Street in Lincoln. Family, friends and colleagues of Hoffman are invited to attend.

The grass and wildflower planting project of the “educational prairie” in McCook was envisioned first by McCook veterinarian Dr. Joe Magrath (Nov. 24, 1928 - April 1, 2014), who wanted to preserve and enhance the seven acres of native prairie on the northwest corner of West J and North Highway 83 in McCook.

The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum is an arboretum and botanical garden composed of nearly 100 arboretums, parks and other public landscapes in 56 communities across Nebraska. It is supported by the arboretum office at the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln. Its mission is to create sustainable landscapes for healthy homes and communities.

For plant and landscape information or to join the arboretum, visit https://plantnebraska.org