The Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio Awards
Guy L. Denny
The Gentian Award for 2025
A native of Toledo, Guy Denny is a life-long self-taught naturalist. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Toledo in 1967 then began his career as a naturalist with the Toledo Metroparks then as a Teacher-Naturalist for the Willoughby-Eastlake School District.
He joined the State of Ohio in 1969 as Chief Naturalist for the ODNR Division of Parks and Recreation. He served as the Executive Assistant to the Chief of parks from 1974-1976 before transferring to the newly formed ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves in 1976. Mr. Denny retired in 1999 from his position as Chief of the ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves after a professional career spanning 33 years of public service. As Chief of DNAP, he was responsible for administering the state’s natural areas and scenic rivers programs.
Guy L. Denny is an interpretive naturalist, writer and photographer with a wealth of knowledge about the natural history of Ohio. He is author of several booklets and articles on Ohio natural history, many of which have appeared in The Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio Journal over the years. He is past editor of the DNAP Newsletter in which he published numerous articles and photographs.
More recently, Denny writes articles and provides photos for the ONAPA Newsletter, the most recent on Snapping Turtles in the 2025 summer issue. He also co-authored The Prairie Peninsula with Gary Meszaros and wrote Peatlands of Ohio and the Southern Great Lakes Region; both books published by The Kent State University Press.
Since retiring, Mr. Denny has served on several conservation organizations. He served as:
- the Executive Director of the Ohio Biological Survey;
- Vice-Chair and Chair for District 17 NRAC (Natural Resources Advisory Council for the Clean Ohio Fund); and
- served on the boards of:
- the Midwest Biodiversity Institute;
- the Ohio Environmental Council;
- Trust for Public Lands; and
- the Brown Family Environmental Center at Kenyon College.
Currently, he serves as President of the Ohio Natural Areas & Preserves Association which he helped establish in 2012.
Guy was our annual meeting speaker in 2012 sharing about the newly formed ONAPA which we then became an organizational member.
He served as Secretary-Treasurer for the Outdoor Writers of Ohio from 1999-2025. Denny has also served on the board of:
- The Friends of the Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden;;
- The Owl Creek Land Conservancy;
- The Ohio League of Conservation Voters; and
- as an advisor to:
- The Holden Arboretum; and
- the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Mr. Denny was inducted into the State of Ohio ODNR’s Ohio Natural Resources Hall of Fame in 2021.
He resides on a small farm with a 20–22-acre tallgrass prairie he created which is situated in Knox County, Fredericktown, Ohio. We had field trips to see the prairie in 2014 and 2023. Guy offers an Annual Prairie Seed Collecting event every summer or fall through ONAPA to collect prairie seed.
We are pleased to offer Guy our Gentian Award for his years of dedication to Ohio’s natural areas and plant communities. We thank Jennifer Windus, president of Ohio Invasive Specie Council and Guy’s longtime friend for getting him to the meeting today.
The plaque has a picture of a fringed gentian and says:
Gentian Award
For Dedication to the Native Plants of Ohio
Guy L. Denny
2025
This tribute was written and given by Judy Barnhart, president of the Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio at our Annual Meeting on 1 November 2025 at the Pine Lake Trout Club in Bainbridge Township, Ohio.