Conservancy Honors Pat and Shirley Ryan with Olmsted Award

Robert Klockars, former Chair of the Geneva Lake Conservancy, and Charles Colman, current Chair, with Patrick and Shirley Ryan, recipients of the Olmsted Award for Landscape Conservation.

(Pictured from Left to right, Robert Klockars, Pat Ryan, Shirley Ryan and Charles Colman)

Geneva Lake Conservancy Honors Pat and Shirley Ryan

with Olmsted Award for Landscape Conservation

The Geneva Lake Conservancy announced Pat and Shirley Ryan as the 2013 recipients of its Olmsted Award which recognizes excellence in landscape conservation. The Ryans were presented the award at a private session in Lake Geneva on Saturday. They were recognized for their impact on conservation landscaping in the Geneva Lakes area.

Robert Klockars, past Chair of the Geneva Lake Conservancy, presented the award to the Ryans. “Over the past 42 years, the Ryans have cared for, restored and enhanced House in the Woods, resulting in a landscape architecture that blends wonderfully with the architecture of the house, creating an outdoor landscape that is just as much a part of their home as the house is.  While the Olmsted roots are ever present, the love and respect that the Ryans have for the property is evident, having added to the landscape vision that the Olmsteds had, creating a dynamic, living organism that reflects their commitment and love of the property,” Klockars said.

The Ryans commented that the House in the Woods property is a place where their family gathers and is full of landscape influences, among them Olmsted.  Their work in maintaining the wooded area of the property has been an ongoing project, in the manner that Thomas Jefferson embraced and their vegetable garden is in the manner of George Washington, in which espalier apple trees form the fencing.