Scholarships

The Garden Club of America Award in Desert Studies

For Graduate Students and Advanced Undergraduates

The Garden Club of America Award in Desert Studies was established to promote the study of horticulture, conservation and design in arid landscapes. The award is a one-year scholarship for graduate or advanced undergraduate students studying horticulture, conservation, botany, environmental science and landscape design relating to the arid landscape.

Students must be enrolled at an accredited U.S. university. The award is intended to have a wide scope pertaining to the arid environment, with preference given to projects that generate scientifically sound water and plant management.

Scholarship Information

• Funds one or more scholars annually at $4,000
• Deadline: January 15
• For more information contact:
  Shannon Fehlberg, Conservation Biologist
  Phone: 480 481.8143
  Email: sfehlberg@dbg.org

Application Information

Candidates should submit the following required information to sfehlberg@dbg.org, with "GCA Award in Desert Studies" as the subject line:

1. A current resume that includes:
   
   • Address, phone and email
   • Educational background including relevant education, work experiences and publications
   • Names and contact information for two references qualified to describe student’s character and ability
2. A 2-3 page essay that includes the following:
   1. An abstract that summarizes the proposed activities and specifies how the work directly applies to this scholarship.
   2. A project description that includes background information-the problem or unknown that you are trying to explain or describe, hypothesis-the possible explanation or alternative explanations to the problem, predictions-expected results if the hypothesis is correct, and methods-how you will determine whether or not the expected results are observed.
   3. A discussion of the significance of the proposed activities.
      
3. An itemized budget for the funds requested (these should be directly related to the proposed activities and should not include reimbursement for tuition).
4. A letter of recommendation from the student’s graduate advisor, using the Academic Advisor Recommendation form (download form as a word document), should be completed and signed by the faculty advisor and sent to:
   Desert Botanical Garden
   Attn: Shannon Fehlberg
   1201 N. Galvin Parkway
   Phoenix, AZ 85008

The successful applicant will submit a written report of project results at the completion of the project to both The Garden Club of America and the Desert Botanical Garden.

Dates & Award Notifications

DEADLINE
Applications must be received by January 15.

EVALUATION
Applications will be evaluated by a panel appointed by the Desert Botanical Garden and approved by the GCA scholarship committee. Applications will be judged on the qualifications of the applicant and how well the proposed activities address the following questions:

• To what extent does the project pertain to the arid environment?
• To what extent does the project generate scientifically sound knowledge about water and plant management?
• Is background information provided? Is the basis of the project explained?
• Are hypotheses and predictions well-defined and clearly stated?
• Are the methods clearly outlined and/or appropriate? Is the project feasible?
• Are the proposed outcomes of the project significant?
• Is the proposal well-written, clear and organized?
• Is the budget appropriately allocated?

NOTIFICATION
Award selection will be completed in early March. The Award recipient will be notified and the award made by the GCA Scholarship Committee by March 31.

The Garden Club of America policy conforms with and strongly supports applicable federal and state laws that forbid discrimination on the basis of sex, disability, religion, age, national origin or sexual orientation with regard to the application for any of the scholarships The Garden Club of America sponsors.

AWARD IN DESERT STUDIES GRANTED
The Desert Botanical Garden, Administrator of the Garden Club of America's New Award in Desert Studies, is pleased to announce the 2011 winner!

	Anastasia Woodard is second-year doctoral student in Molecular Biosciences at Arkansas State University. Her previous research experience has been in disease ecology and plant ecology at Mississippi State University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology.  Woodward's current research interests involve using molecular technologies to better understand how evolutionary history influences biological interactions in the environment today. Through this research she plans to develop better conservation and invasive species management strategies. Currently she is investigating differential host plant defense responses to co-evolved versus newly-associated insect herbivores and the influences of plant-plant signaling on these interactions. Specifically, Woodward is investigating the airborne signaling compounds released by caterpillar-infested plants to develop natural pesticides for the management of an important invasive species threatening desert ecosystems in North America. Her project is entitled: “Cactus-Derived Volatile Organic Compounds as a Potential Control Agent of the Invasive Cactus Borer, Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).”
	Chris Gurney is a M.S. student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. His research is focused on understanding how a keystone species, the endangered Giant Kangaroo Rat, interacts with the plant community at Carrizo Plain National Monument in California. With the results of his study, Gurney hopes to improve conservation management at the Carrizo Plains.