Amos serves as director of land management and environmental programs at Elling Eide Center
Lee Amos, director of land management and environmental programs at The Elling Eide Center, was named the recipient of the 2025 Sustainability Champion: Planet Award in November during Sarasota County’s 20th Annual Sustainable Communities Workshop, the Center has announced.
The award “recognizes individuals who have made a measurable and lasting impact on the health of Sarasota’s environment and ecosystems,” a news release points out.
“From Robinson Preserve to Orange Hammock Ranch, Amos has helped safeguard and restore some of the region’s most ecologically significant lands,” the release points out.
“The Elling Eide Center is a nonprofit research library, nature preserve, and cultural retreat located on 72 acres of rare coastal habitat in Sarasota,” the release explains.
During his tenure as the land stewardship manager at Big Waters Land Trust, the release notes, Amos “contributed to the protection of 48 natural areas totaling 19,569 acres. He also designed and implemented a tree-planting program to restore native species — including longleaf pine and pop ash” — resulting in the planting of more than 70,000 trees in parks and preserves throughout Southwest Florida.
“Highlighting a career already marked by tangible impact, the Sustainability Champion Award celebrates Amos’ ongoing contributions to land conservation, habitat restoration, and climate resilience,” the release adds.
“Lee’s leadership exemplifies the kind of long-term, place-based stewardship that truly benefits a community,” said Samuel Casey Carter, president & CEO of the Elling Eide Center, in the release. “His work is rooted in science, shaped by story, and sustained by a deep commitment to the land,” Carter continued in the release. “We’re thrilled to see the newest member of our team honored in this way and congratulate him on the well-deserved recognition.”
The release notes that Amos was chosen from among 36 community-nominated candidates in five award categories. “The selection process was led by an eight-member subcommittee of the Sustainable Communities Workshop organizing team, with the awards presented during the workshop’s post-event celebration on Nov. 6 at Harvest House in Sarasota, the release points out.
“The 2025 ceremony marked a return to tradition,” mirroring the 10-year anniversary awards held in 2015, the release adds.
The annual Sustainable Communities Workshop is conducted by the Sarasota County University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension and Sustainability program. The event “provides the latest expert information about creating thriving, livable, and lasting communities,” a county news release notes.
“At the Elling Eide Center, Amos bridges ecological restoration with interdisciplinary research, connecting the Center’s 72-acre coastal preserve with its East Asian research library,” the release explains. “His leadership is helping shape the Center’s strategic initiatives in habitat enhancement, native plant cultivation, and landscape architecture and design, positioning the preserve as a living laboratory for environmental resilience and global learning,” the release adds.
“This award feels like more than recognition — it feels like encouragement for the work ahead,” Amos said in the release.
To learn more about the Elling Eide Center’s environmental programs and upcoming initiatives, visit ellingoeide.org.