The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is strongly committed to the advancement of educational opportunities around native plants.
Research Scholarship Program
Since 1999, the chapter has sponsored a scholarship program for students doing research on native plant or plant community conservation, plant ecology, plant community restoration, plant systematics, rare plants or other related botanical studies of native plants that grow in habitats in Central and Northern California. The program provides $2,500 for graduate students and $1,500 for undergraduate students researching topics related to native plant and native habitat conservation in the San Francisco Bay Area. A several scholarships are available, including:
The Sally Casey Shooting Stars Research Scholarship is for a student focused on research involving native wildflowers, native grasses and grasslands, soil carbon, and soil interactions. Sally Casey (1921 - 2019) was a Founding Member of our Chapter and a CNPS Fellow. The education of future botanists was important to Sally, and for many years she helped to fund scholarships with the sale of shooting stars that she grew in her backyard nursery.
The Don Mayall Conservation Research Scholarship is for a student focused on research on rare plants and serpentine ecosystems. Don Mayall (1932 - 2017) joined our CNPS Chapter in the mid-1980s. He was a CNPS Fellow and was active with in the successful protection efforts for Edgewood County Park (San Mateo County, CA) & Preserve and Coyote Ridge (Santa Clara County, CA).
Learn more and apply for one of our research scholarships here.
Community College Scholarship Program
This Scholarship is on hiatus.
This is a scholarship program for community college students with a goal of studying or working in a field that includes a focus on native plants such as environmental science, ecology, restoration, park management or horticulture. This scholarship provides $1,500 to support a local student pursuing a career with a focus on California native plants. The scholarship is intended to help with scholastic related expenses such as books and tuition. The application is open to students whose primary residence is in San Mateo or Santa Clara County, or are attending, or have applied to college in one of these counties.Applicants must have taken a course in California native plants or plan to take one in the next year.
If you would like to contribute to the CNPS SCV scholarship program, a check written to “CNPS”, with a notation of “SCV Scholarship Fund” may be mailed to the address below. Company matching programs are welcome.
CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter
3921 E. Bayshore Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303