The Garden Club of America is a nonprofit national organization composed of 199 member garden clubs with almost 18,000 club members who devote energy and expertise to projects in their communities and across the United States. Founded in 1913, the GCA is a leader in horticulture, conservation, creative arts, historic preservation, and environmental protection. It offers research grants and scholarships to students studying these fields.
GCA Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies
$5000 annually to one graduate student in field based wetlands research. This coastal wetlands focus is defined as those tidal or nontidal wetlands found within coastal states, including the Great Lakes.
GCA Award in Desert Studies
Funds one or more scholars for one year at $4,000 to promote the study of horticulture, conservation, botany, environmental science and landscape design relating to the arid landscape.
GCA Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
The GCA Fellowship in Ecological restoration supports specialized study and research in ecological restoration, the “active healing of the land.” Thorough study and research will assist the recovery and management of ecological integrity, through increased understanding of a critical range of variability in biodiversity, ecological processes, structures, regional and historical context, and/or sustainable cultural practices. Provides an annual grant of $8000 to support study and research in the field or in the lab, while enrolled in a leading accredited university based in the United States.
GCA Fellowship in garden history and design
Funds one graduate student in American garden and landscape history annually at $4000 to further the study of history and design in the American garden and to look to the future of gardens and their unique place in our environment.
GCA Fellowship in in The Making of the American Landscape
$5000 plus writing support to promote, expand, enrich and develop the body of research in significant man-made changes to the American landscape. Applicants will propose a topic that demonstrates and illuminates a significant alteration of the American landscape. It may be approached from any of the following disciplines: historic preservation, architectural history, landscape architecture, infrastructure, history, American studies, civil engineering and environmental engineering, to name a few. It is important that the proposal addresses the individual characteristics of the people involved, whether they were leaders, craftsmen or manual laborers.
GCA Fellowship in Medicinal Botany
Provides one annual grant award of $4500 To protect, preserve and expand knowledge about the medicinal use of plants, thus preventing the disappearance of plants with therapeutic potential. Providing this research opportunity for botanists can, in turn, assist medical science to develop therapies that improve the quality of life of patients and develop life-saving medicines. Open to students currently enrolled in Ph.D. programs at recognized universities and Ph.D. graduates who have received their degrees in the last five years.
GCA Fellowship in Tropical Botany
Provides two or more grants of $5500 annually to enable field study in tropical botany. Applicants must be PhD candidates.
GCA Fellowship in urban Forestry
$7500 is awarded annually to one or more students to advance the field of urban forestry by encouraging students to study the planning, management, horticulture and ecology of urban forests and the effect of healthy urban forests on people and the environment. urban forests and the effect of healthy urban forests on people and the environment.
GCA Scholarship for Native Bird Habitat
Provides financial aid to at least one scholar for $4500 annually to study areas in the United States that provide seasonal habitat for threatened or endangered native birds and to tend useful information for land-management decisions.
GCA Scholarship in Native Plant Studies
Minimum $3,000 to encourage the understanding, development and use of underutilized native plants. Established to encourage the development of research, documentation, and teaching skills in the field of horticulture.
Fellowship Website:
https://www.gcamerica.org/scholarships