Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Butler has been awarded the 2025 Henry Shaw Medal from the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, U.S.
Established in 1893, the award recognizes “individuals who have made a significant contribution to the Missouri Botanical Garden, botanical research, horticulture, conservation, or the museum community.” While many recipients have been scientists, Butler joins a distinguished group of honorees from outside research including the National Geographic Society and the U.K.’s Prince Charles (now King Charles III).
“Rhett Ayers Butler is a shining example of what the Henry Shaw Medal recognizes,” said Michael Stern, chair of the board of trustees for Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG). “His commitment to environmental journalism has deepened the public’s understanding of the urgent need for conservation and inspired action around the world.”
“It is a tremendous honor to receive the Henry Shaw Medal from such an esteemed institution as the Missouri Botanical Garden,” Butler said. “The Garden’s legacy of advancing science, conservation, and public understanding is an inspiration, and I am deeply grateful to be recognized alongside those who have contributed so much to protecting our planet.”
Butler started Mongabay as a passion project from his apartment in California in 1999, inspired by a personal encounter with an orangutan in a rainforest in Borneo. “I vividly remember cooling my feet beside a jungle creek when a wild orangutan emerged in the canopy overhead. We made eye contact — just for a few seconds — but the moment stayed with me,” he said.
Rhett Butler taking photos in the rainforest of Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
He later learned that the same forest was cleared for pulp and paper production. Motivated by that loss, Butler went on to build a global newsroom that today has some 1,000 contributors across 80 countries producing environmental journalism in seven languages. Mongabay partners with local journalists and media outlets around the world to report stories that might otherwise go unreported.
The guiding start at Mongabay has never been pageviews and clicks but meaningful, positive impacts, Butler said. “When credible information circulates freely, it holds powerful interests accountable, equips decision-makers with evidence, and gives frontline communities the tools to defend their rights and ecosystems.”
Peter Raven, a botanist and president emeritus of MBG, said in an email to Mongabay: “We hope that our recognition of Rhett Butler will in many ways lead people to improve their understanding of our global home.” He added, “we love his work and will continue to do whatever we can to encourage it.”
Butler will receive the medal at a ceremony held in St. Louis on Oct. 22.
Banner image: Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler in Ecuador. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
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