OUTSTANDING SERVICE–Volunteer Tony Valois has been honored with the George B. Hartzog Jr. award, which acknowledges his volunteer service. His biggest accomplishment was creating a wildflower identification database, which is accessible on the Internet. It enables park visitors to easily identify wildflowers in the Santa Monica Mountains. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE/Special to the Acorn Tony Valois, a volunteer at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, won the national George B. Hartzog Jr. award for Outstanding Volunteer Service by an Individual, presented by the National Park Service.

He received the award last Saturday at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Volunteer Picnic at Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills.

Valois will travel to Washington, D.C., for formal recognition of his achievement during a ceremony at the National Park Service Washington office.

Valois earned the award for his service to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. His most notable accomplishment was a wildflower identification database that he worked on for six years.

The database is accessible for free on the Internet and allows the public to easily identify wildflowers in the Santa Monica Mountains based on a few simple characteristics like color and size.

Valois, who began volunteering for the National Park Service in 2002, started taking pictures of the most common wildflowers found around Circle X Ranch and Sandstone Peak.

What began in 2004 as 50 flower pictures on a website has grown to more than 700, along with scientific names and closeup shots.

He is now working on an iPhone app that will allow hikers to bring the database along with them on the trail.

Valois lives in the Santa Monica Mountains at Circle X Ranch in Malibu. He serves the park as a volunteer campground host, botanist and high-tech wizard.

Before joining the National Park Service as a volunteer, Valois earned a doctorate in electrical engineering and was a professor at the University of Minnesota.

To access the online flower finder, visit the website www .researchlearningcenter.com/ bloom/query.htm.