New Native Plant Studies Scholarship Announced by The Garden Club of America

NEW YORK, NY – The Garden Club of America (GCA) is offering a new scholarship in native plant studies, with applications now being accepted. The Montine M. Freeman Scholarship in Native Plant Studies supports the study of underutilized native plants at an accredited U.S. college or university or a major botanic garden or arboretum. The GCA will fund one or more Freeman Scholarships annually at a minimum of $3,000.

The scholarship is open to undergraduates and graduate students, advanced degree candidates or non-degree-seeking applicants above the high school level. U.S. citizens and permanent residents enrolled in a U.S.-based institution are eligible.  To apply, visit www.gcamerica.org/index.cfm/scholarships/details/id/35. Deadline is February 1 preceding the period of study.

“The scholarship’s purpose is to encourage the understanding, development, and use of underutilized native plants through research, documentation and teaching in the field of horticulture,” says Kathy Keller, GCA Scholarship Committee chairman.

The Freeman Scholarship was created in cooperation with the family of the late Montine McDaniel Freeman of New Orleans. A member of the New Orleans Town Gardeners, a GCA club, Mrs. Freeman was an outstanding horticulturist particularly enamored of native plants. Her 93-acre Beechwood Gardens in Covington, LA, boasted more than 4,000 azaleas, camellias and magnolia grandifloras.

The GCA offers 28 merit-based scholarships and fellowships, awarding more than $330,000 in 2017. GCA scholarships are available in medicinal and tropical botany, native bird habitat, conservation and ecological restoration, desert studies, landscape architecture, urban forestry, garden history and design, coastal wetlands, and pollinator research.

More information about the Freeman and other GCA scholarships may be found at www.gcamerica.org/scholarships and at @gcascholarships on Twitter.

The GCA is a nonprofit national organization composed of 200 clubs with nearly 18,000 members who devote energy and expertise to projects in their communities and across the U.S. Founded in 1913, the GCA is a leader in horticulture, conservation, and civic improvement.

Featured

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.