Education Program

CNPS Work Exchange Program for Reduced or Waived Workshop Fees

CNPS offers reduced or waved registration fees for its Plant Science Training workshops, in exchange for work, to CNPS members who earn less than $30,000/year and are interested in improving their plant science skills. Students, minorities, and those entering a botanic/natural resource field are encouraged to apply.

Applicants may receive reduced or waived fees in exchange for assistance with tasks related to the workshops such as meal preparation, clean-up, distribution of workshop materials, and/ or writing descriptions of workshops for CNPS articles and promotional materials. Tasks and fees will vary with each workshop. Some workshop fees include food and lodging and other expenses. We will waive fees for workshops that have no extra expenses included in fees but we will reduce fees for workshops that include those extra expenses. In other words, we ask that beneficiaries of this work exchange program cover their expenses for food, lodging, course materials, and transportation.

CNPS will reserve one to three spaces per workshop for this purpose. Vacancies will be advertised in the workshop announcement and on the CNPS workshop webpage. Beneficiaries will be selected on a first-come-first-served basis. People wishing to participate in this work exchange program must be CNPS members (Join now!) fill out an application form, and provide proof of income (<$30,000/yr). Applications will be evaluated upon receipt and will be kept for a full calendar year.

Below we have outlined the process for receiving reduced or waived workshop fees. Chances of securing a space in our workshops increase when you follow these steps:

1. .If you are a CNPS member who makes less than $30,000 per year, fill out and submit the application for reduced or waived workshop fees and attach proof of current income such as a current pay stub. Your email address will be placed on the email notification list for workshops opening for registration. We will keep your application on file for the current calendar year.
2. When you receive notification that the workshop has opened for registration, email your request to attend with reduced or waived fees immediately. You may apply as often as you wish but you may receive the benefits of a reduced fee workshop no more than twice in one year.

You will be notified right away if you receive a space in the workshop or if you did not, we will notify you that you have been placed on the Work Exchange waiting list. If the workshop does not fill to capacity or if there is a cancellation that cannot be refilled, the additional spaces will be opened to people on the waiting list. This will be like flying standby- you may not know whether or not there is space for you until a few days (or less) before the workshop.

We will describe the work exchange tasks when you request attendance at a particular workshop so that you are fully aware of your obligations before you accept the reduced or waived fee. If your fee is reduced rather than waived, you must pay the fees agreed upon to secure your space, in advance of the workshop.

Download Application Form (98kb PDF)