Oregon Blackberry Award

Creation Story

When Covid shut society down in 2020, the Oregon Blackberry Award was created by Peter Eberhardt, a Geographer and Cartographer living in Eugene, Oregon. It’s modeled after the Nobel Prizes. This award is a way of acknowledging people who make a difference in the cultures and communities of Oregon and in a few cases other states.

Awardees are chosen by members of the Oregon Blackberry Trust, a group of friends committed to progressive social change, good conversations, and fun. Like blackberry vines and fruit, awardees sometimes prick our conscience with sweet, juicy language and actions. They make a difference! Awardees are people who nourish us and open our minds.

Himalayan blackberries are fast-growing bushes that grow freely and abundantly in the Willamette Valley. Like humans, Himalayan blackberries are ubiquitous and highly successful at reproducing and covering landscapes. Both species are dominant and invasive.

You can count on blackberries every year to produce strong, fast-growing stems, flowers, and lots of fresh fruit. Blackberry thorns are sharp and can scratch soft skin and draw blood. Blackberry bushes provide habitat for rabbits, honeybees, songbirds, spiders, and many forms of life, both visible and invisible.

Blackberries are tart as they begin to ripen in late July, turning sweeter as weeks pass. Blackberry picking is a meditative experience with tasty results. Anybody can pick. Blackberries make delicious jams, jellies, cobblers, and stationery.

In the leafy domain of botany, blackberry plants are as powerful as the people chosen for this award. Blackberries and Awardees have several things in common: they are tenacious, successful in their own right, and self-expressed.

Nobel Prizes are Scalable

Since 1901, according to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Nobel Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” All Nobel Peace Prize laureates, inside a grand ceremony in Oslo, Norway are presented with a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation, and a sum of money. It is an enormous honor drawing the world’s attention.

It is inspiring to read about the Nobel Peace Prize and who is chosen for this award. Laureates include Nelson Mandela, Jody Williams, the IPCC, Rigoberta Menchú, and Narges Mohammadi.

The Oregon Blackberry Award (OBA), like the Nobel, is created to honor and acknowledge people who make a difference in the cultures and communities of Oregon and our Nation.

The Oregon Blackberry Award is scaled to our community and resources. We invite other communities around the world to create their own botanical awards to acknowledge leaders in their communities! Send us an email with questions or suggestions on this

Awardees are chosen by members of the Oregon Blackberry Trust, a group of friends committed to progressive social change, good conversations and fun. Since May, 2020 over 34 OBAs have been awarded. We are having fun acknowledging people and groups who make a difference~!

The number of Awardees is growing like blackberry bushes.