Hartford City’s Jon Creek to receive Audubon Society’s top conservation award

Jon Creek of Hartford City will receive the Robert Cooper Audubon Society’s highest honor at the chapter’s 2026 conservation awards on December 2 in Muncie.

Creek will accept the Robert H. and Esther L. Cooper Conservation Award, which recognizes overall contributions to conservation and appreciation of the natural environment, according to a news release from the society.

Creek held leadership roles with the Audubon chapter from 2004 to 2023, including Conservation Committee Chair. The release credits him with leading habitat improvement projects across East Central Indiana, with a focus on controlling invasive plant species and planting thousands of native trees, shrubs and other plants.

In Hartford City, Creek has played a key role in developing Wilderness Park’s prairie restoration and woodland trails, the release said. He continues to lead efforts to control invasive species across the park’s 24 wooded acres.

His past projects include overseeing the installation of four osprey nesting platforms and starting a project to place carp exclusion grates at Prairie Creek Reservoir.

The awards event runs 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, December 2, at the Ball State University Alumni Center, 2800 W. Bethel Ave., Muncie. It is free and open to the public, with presentations by the honorees, appetizers and door prizes. Attendees should RSVP to cooperaudubon@gmail.com by November 20.

Other 2026 honorees include Tim Carter of Muncie (Clyde W. Hibbs Conservation Education Award), the White River Freshwater Mussel Propagation Program run by the Muncie Sanitary District (Richard Greene Public Service Award), Brad Hanauer of Muncie (Phyllis Yuhas Wildlife Habitat Preservation Award), and Rozzie Garringer of Muncie (Charles D. Wise Youth Conservation Award).

The Robert Cooper Audubon Society serves nearly 400 members across seven East Central Indiana counties and is a chapter of the National Audubon Society.