The Morris K. Udall Foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary through a year-long celebration. The culmination of the celebration is a cross-country bus tour, which stopped in Lawrence on July 9.

The Udall Foundation was established by Congress in 1996 in honor of Morris K. Udall for his service in the U.S. House of Representatives. The foundation awards scholarships, fellowships and internships for studies related to the environment and Native American issues.

Thirteen Udall alumni are traveling on the tour, which began in Washington, D.C. in June and ends in Tuscon, Ariz., in August. They are traveling in the first ever “green certified” bus. Eli Zigas, communications manager for the Udall Legacy Bus Tour said the tour is a way to highlight the work of Udall alumni and the initiatives of their communities. He said there are a number of University Udall alumni, which made Lawrence a destination on the tour.

Studie Red Corn, Shawnee senior, is a 2007 Udall scholar. He said Lawrence and the University will stand out in the tour because the communities are on the verge of having many exciting things happen in terms of sustainability.

“We have a ‘cooking oil to bio-diesel’ plant that is just getting up and running, a Center for Sustainability that is only a semester old and a renewable energy and sustainability fund that just got passed in the Student Senate elections,” Red Corn said.

In terms of Native American issues, Red Corn said, Lawrence has the Haskell-Baker wetlands and Haskell University itself.

All of these efforts were highlighted during the Lawrence visit. Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, was scheduled to lead the group on a “green tour” around campus on Tuesday.

The Lawrence visit was the group’s 16th stop on the tour, with visits to 15 more cities planned, including Denver, San Francisco and Seattle. Severin said considering the number of communities on the tour, it is a privilege Lawrence was chosen.

“Its really an honor to be included among the other cities the tour bus is visiting and it’s an opportunity to show what we are doing in Lawrence,” said Severin.

The Udall bus will head to Colorado next.

—Edited by Ben Smith