collections. When asked how he got into botany, he answered, “I simply worked myself into the field.” Influence Though Denison knew very little English when he first arrived in the United States, a fact that may have contributed to his initial preference to explore the countryside over socializing, and carried his German accent throughout his life, he was generous in sharing his knowledge and his plants. His own Kirkwood garden was a showcase, with over 1,000 different varieties of plants, and he shared specimens and information freely with neighbors and visitors and even the Missouri Botanical Garden. He was very active with the Missouri Botanical Garden, and wrote many articles for the Garden's Bulletin through the years. He also trained volunteers for the Garden's “Answer Man” horticulture answer service, and led wildflower walks at the Garden's Shaw Arboretum (in 2000 renamed Shaw Nature Reserve) near Gray Summit, Missouri. Denison was co-founder of the Missouri Native Plant Society, and was an active member and leader throughout his life and contributed many articles to its publication Missouriensis. He was also a long-time member of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society and contributed articles to its publication, Nature Notes. Denison was also an active conservationist and animal lover, and served on the executive committee of the St. Louis chapter of the Sierra Club for many years, and as a board member of the Missouri chapter of The Humane Society of the United States for over 20 years. He and Ruth Denison were also members of the Missouri Prairie Foundation, and the Denison Prairie, a tract of 440 acres in southwestern Missouri's Barton County, is named after him in recognition of his contributions to Missouri Department of Conservation. One of his proudest accomplishments was being hired by Washington University in St. Louis to assist with botany classes, that despite having no formal advanced education in botany. But by far his most influential contribution was to author and provide many illustrations and photos for the Missouri Wildflowers handbook. Denison wanted to encourage people to learn Missouri's native plants, and so arranged the book in a unique, yet easy to follow system, first by color of bloom, then by season of bloom, to make identification as easy as possible. The book has sold more than 100,000 copies to date, with all proceeds going to the Missouri Department of Conservation. Awards Erna R. Eisendrath Memorial Education Award