The Garden Club of America recently announced a new collaboration with Kauai’ National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) on two GCA scholarships related to tropical botany.
NTBG will identify the most promising candidates in the fields of tropical botany, horticulture, and landscape architecture for study both in the US and abroad. Scholarship awards will be made for PhD students via the GCA’s Tropical Botany Fellowship and to graduate and undergraduate students via the Loy McCandless Marks Scholarship.
Since its inception in 1989, the GCA’s Tropical Botany Fellowship has funded field studies for nearly 80 PhD candidates whose research advances the preservation of tropical forests. Since 2003, 10 graduate and undergraduate students specializing in tropical horticulture, botany, or landscape architecture have received the Marks Scholarship.
“National Tropical Botanical Garden is delighted to collaborate with The Garden Club of America in awarding scholarships in tropical botany,” said Janet Mayfield, director and CEO of NTBG. “This collaboration signifies a shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of botanists and conservationists dedicated to preserving our irreplaceable tropical ecosystems. Together, we aim to empower and support scholars who will drive innovation and stewardship in tropical botany for a sustainable future.”
Many of us are acquainted with NTBG’s former Director/CEO, Chipper Wichman, who was awarded the GCA Medal of Honor in 2018 for his lifetime of work in the field of tropical botany. Chipper presented at the GCA’s Conservation Study Conference in 2022. Janet Mayfield also recently participated in the GCA’s 2023 Horticulture Conference.
-by Lindsay D.
