Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as Lady Bird Johnson, is being honored with a Congressional Gold Medal and a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her enduring work as an early environmentalist. Her vision brought beauty and humanity to the nation’s capital, where many of her initiatives continue to blossom some 60 years after they began. Johnson’s passion for the natural world stemmed from her childhood in Texas, where the outdoors became a solace after her mother’s early death.