AMES, Iowa – “The Forest Where Ashley Lives,” a children’s book published by Iowa State University Extension, has received an Education Award from the Arbor Day Foundation, a nonprofit education and conservation organization.

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Education Awards recognize model programs throughout the United States and the world, said Elaine Edwards, ISU Extension educational materials coordinator and one of the book’s editors. Edwards will represent ISU Extension and receive the award April 26 at the foundation’s 36th annual Arbor Day Awards banquet in Nebraska City, Neb.

“The Forest Where Ashley Lives” was published in 2000, Edwards said. It was written by Mark Vitosh, then an ISU Extension forestry program assistant, and his daughter, Ashley Vitosh, at the time an Ames, Iowa, fourth grader. John L. Smith, then a research associate in the ISU Department of Forestry, created the illustrations. The book (PM 1812, $3) is available for sale from ISU Extension’s Online Store, https://www.extension.iastate.edu/store/. An interactive CD-ROM (PM 1812A, $5) also is available.

“In the book a 7-year-old girl named Ashley tells the story of her town’s forest and how the trees help her community,” Edwards said. “Each page is colorfully illustrated to show a child more about urban trees.”

The book includes facts about trees, labeled illustrations and diagrams, and tips on tree planting interspersed among the large color drawings of a young girl exploring her world of trees, Edwards said.

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