If you’ve ever wanted to know the name of a wildflower you spotted on a hike, chances are you’ve come across the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Flower Finder online. It’s a comprehensive, easy-to-use web site that is full of great information and – as the LAist found out – it’s the product of one volunteer.

Earlier this week, the LAist posted a feature about Tony Valois, who just won a National Park Service volunteer award for his years of work on the project – and years of answering hikers’ questions at the Circle X Ranch. When he found that his list of flowers was getting too large for him and for those searching it, he tried to find a program that could make a searchable database online. When he couldn’t find one that suited him, he wrote it himself! Now that’s a dedicated volunteer.

Congratulations to Tony!

Tags: flower finder, tony valois, volunteering, wildflower