Local CNPS chapters offer a wealth of support to students interested in native plant research and careers. While many chapters provide grants, students who engage with their local chapters also will enjoy a number of other benefits, including:
- Expertise: Students are immediately welcomed into an active and engaged community of botanists.
- Connections: Chapters connect scholarship recipients with local land managers and conservation staff, creating relationships that improve the students’ chance of project funding, long-term support, or even future employment.
- Community: Chapter scholarships bring universities, community college, and CNPS together. These next-generation members establish enduring relationships that benefit the entire community.
Who can apply?
Although most scholarships go to graduate students, some chapters offer funds to students of all ages or community members. Please select from the information below to learn about opportunities in your area.
Contact your local chapter for questions. To update grant information, contact education@cnps.org
Chapter Student Scholarship Opportunities
Check linked chapter websites for most accurate dates
Alta Peak Chapter Project Grants
Tulare County
Award: $250-300
Focus: Native plant education, conservation or restoration
Deadline: March annually
More information
Bristlecone Chapter Mary DeDecker Grant
Region: Northern Mojave Desert, Sierra Nevada, Inyo and Mono Counties
Award: up to $1,500
Applicants: K-12, college students, graduate students
Focus: Research projects, elementary education programs, native plant murals, native plant gardens, invasive plant removal projects, and more
Deadline: January annually
More information
Bryophyte Chapter Student Research Grants
Region: Statewide
Award: Variable small grant amounts
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students
Focus: Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts of California
Deadline: January annually
More information
Channel Islands Chapter
Region: Ventura or Santa Barbara County
Award: $1,500 + CNPSCI chapter membership
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students
Focus: California native plants within Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, including the ecology of native plants, plant communities, pollination ecology, seed dispersal, taxonomy, phenology, restoration, conservation, and more.
Deadline: January annually
More information
East Bay Chapter Myrtle Wolf Student Research Grant
Region: Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
Award: up to $1,000
Applicants: Students at accredited East Bay colleges and universities, including community colleges
Focus: Biological and horticulture projects focused on California native plants, especially taxa native to the East Bay
Deadline: January annually
More information
Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mountains Chapter: Halli Mason Student Research Scholarship Program
Region: Statewide
Award: $2,000
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students
Focus: Local flora of southern California, especially conservation and floristics research
Deadline: June annually
More information
Milo Baker Chapter Scholarships
Region: Sonoma County
Award: $1,000 for merit scholarships, up to $3,500 for research scholarships
Applicants: Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College students
Focus: Students studying native plants, plant ecology, plant genetics, or related studies; research related to plants of Sonoma County.
Deadline: March annually
More information
Marin Chapter Research Scholarships & Grants
Research Scholarships
Region: Marin County
Award: up to $3,000
Applicants: Student researchers
Focus: Plant systematics, plant ecology, plant physiology, plant community restoration or other related botanical studies of native plants; especially native plant and habitat conservation.
Deadline: Scholarships may be offered throughout the year; please continue to check the website for details.
More information
Micro Grants
Region: Variable, but especially Marin County
Award: Variable
Applicants: Individuals and organizations
Focus: Projects that advance the Marin Chapter’s mission
Deadline: December annually
More information
North Coast Chapter Research Scholarship
Region: Humboldt, Trinity, Siskiyou, and Del Norte Counties
Award: up to $4,000
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students at Cal Poly Humboldt and College of the Redwoods
Focus: Topics related to regional native plants including basic biology, taxonomy, ecological interactions, vegetation, evolutionary biology, climate change, traditional ecological knowledge, ecological restoration, listed species recovery, invasive species eradication and management, native plant habitat studies and more.
Deadline: March annually
More information
Orange County Chapter Grants
Charlie O’Neill Research Grant
Region: Orange County
Amount: $500-$1,000+
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students
Focus: field research related to biology, ecology, floristics, taxonomy, or ethnobotany of native plants, especially species, and plant communities of Orange County.
Deadline: February annually
More information
Acorn Grant
Region: Orange County
Amount: $150-$1,000
Applicants: Orange County K-12 public schools
Focus: School gardens featuring California native plants
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
Traveler’s Grant
Region: Statewide
Amount: Up to $500
Applicants: students and other individuals
Focus: Supports attendance of a conference, workshop, or seminar on California native plant-related topics
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
Celia Kitcher Conservation Award
Region: Orange County
Amount: $1,000
Awarded to: individuals, groups, organizations
Focus: Recognizes commitment and efforts to conserve Orange County’s native flora and its natural habitats, restore damaged habitats, fight invasive weeds, and/or advocate for environmental protection.
Presented annually in January
More information
Horticulture Grant
Orange County
Amount: Up to $500
Applicants: individuals, groups, and organizations
Focus: projects that install, enhance, or maintain California native plants in an urban garden or public landscape, especially in a demonstration or educational manner.
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
Sacramento Valley Chapter Kids in Native Gardens Grant
Region: Sacramento, Yolo, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, lower Placer, and northern San Joaquin Counties
Amount: $300
Applicants: Elementary schools and community gardens
Focus: Purchase of California native plants for school and community gardens with intent to help children learn about and recognize native plants through hands-on experience.
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
San Diego Chapter Grants and Scholarship Program
Research Grants
Region: San Diego and Imperial Counties
Amount: Up to $6,000
Applicants: Collegiate or post-graduate students
Focus: California native plants of San Diego and Imperial Counties including ecology of native plants, plant communities, pollination ecology, seed dispersal, taxonomy, phenology, restoration, conservation, and more.
Deadline: October annually
More information
Mini Grants
Region: San Diego and Imperial Counties
Amount: Up to $500
Applicants: Individuals, schools, and nonprofits
Focus: projects that enhance public understanding, appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants.
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
Educational Scholarships
Region: San Diego State University
Amount: $895 (tuition cost)
Applicants: Students enrolled in the Field Botany of San Diego County course at San Diego State University.
Focus: Awards support full tuition to attend this spring semester course.
Deadline: Apply and register for the course before applying for this scholarship.
More information
Santa Clara Valley Chapter Student Scholarships
Research Scholarship Program
Region: Central and Northern California, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area
Amount: up to $1,500 for undergraduate students or $2,500 for graduate students
Applicants: Undergraduate (including teams) and graduate student researchers.
Focus: 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.
Deadline: October annually
More information
Community College Scholarship
Region: San Mateo or Santa Clara County
Amount: $1,500
Applicants: Community college students
Focus: Scholarship supports scholastic expenses of students pursuing a career in native plant horticulture, native plant ecology, native habitat or park management.
Deadline: February annually
More information
San Luis Obispo Chapter Malcolm McLeod Scholarship Fund
Region: San Luis Obispo County
Amount: $500-$1,500
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students at California Polytechnic State University, Cuesta College, and Allan Hancock College.
Focus: Research that increases understanding and conservation of California’s native plants through education, science, advocacy, horticulture, and land stewardship.
Deadline: December annually
More information
San Gabriel Mountains Chapter Grants Program
Region: Southern California
Amount: Varies
Applicants: Students and individuals
Focus: Conservation of native Southern California flora
Deadline: December annually
More information
Shasta Chapter Scholarships and Grants
Annual Plant Biology Scholarship
Region: Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc, or Lassen Counties
Amount: $2,000
Applicants: Students attending Shasta Community College, Lassen Community College, College of the Siskiyous, or local high schools, and who have been accepted to a four-year university or college to pursue a degree in plant biology.
Focus: Scholarship supports scholastic expenses of students committed to a career path in plant biology, including botany, plant ecology, plant conservation, habitat management and/or restoration, and more.
Deadline: April annually
More information
Northern California Botanists Research Scholarship
Region: Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, and Siskiyou Counties
Amount: $1,500
Applicants: undergraduate and graduate students
Focus: supports students who are from or researching the flora of the Shasta Chapter region, especially topics related to rare species or communities.
Deadline: March annually
More information
Acorn Grant
Region: Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties
Amount: up to $500
Applicants: Educators of all K-12 schools located within the counties served by the Shasta Chapter.
Focus: Projects that emphasize native plants, including gardens, class projects, field trips, and more.
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
Oak Tree Grant
Region: Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties
Amount: Up to $500
Applicants: Individuals or organizations within the Shasta Chapter area
Focus: Projects that support awareness in the general public of California native plants and habitats, via gardens, landscaping, programming, and more.
Deadline: Accepted year-round
More information
Willis Jepson Chapter Friends of the Napa River Park Grant
Region: Solano County
Amount: Up to $4,000
Applicants: Undergraduate and graduate students
Focus: Research, environmental protection and/or education in the geographic area of the Napa River and adjacent wetlands.
Deadline: June annually
More information
Did You Know?
The California Native Plant Society also offers a number of student research grants statewide. Application deadline is generally Oct. 31 each year
Recent Scholarship Recipients
Research: Pollinators of the Siskiyou iris (Iris Bracteata)
“The North Coast Chapter CNPS Student Scholarship provided an opportunity to study something that I am truly passionate about. Without this financial support, my research would have been less successful or not even feasible! The support was priceless.”
Research: Phenology shifts with climate change
“These scholarships helped me purchase temperature recording ibuttons and fencing to exclude cattle from my research plots. This infrastructure was critical for my research and allowed me to get started quickly in the first year of my PhD.”
Research: Floristic inventory of the Adobe Valley and surrounding hills in Mono County, CA.
“Due to the grants available through CNPS, I was able to maximize my time in the field, leading to an overall more robust understanding of the flora and granting me the opportunity to find plants that would have remained dormant in other, drier years.”
Research: Ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that shape current and future species range limits.
“The CNPS scholarship supports the effort of analyzing the spatial and temporal trends in alpine plane communities observed in the GLORIA Great Basin dataset, as well as gives me the opportunity to spread the word about the need for volunteer botanists for GLORIA Great Basin.”
Research: Physical and ecological impacts of active revegetation on a salt marsh restoration site
“This scholarship has been invaluable to the success of my research, not only as a financial resource to pursue my research and graduate studies, but as a means to disseminating my research. I greatly enjoyed sharing my research at a CNPS Santa Clara Valley Chapter Meeting, and I look forward to more opportunities to continue to interact with the CNPS community.”
Research: Documenting the vascular plant flora of the Upper Rock Creek watershed
“The funding I received from the Mary DeDecker scholarship helped provide field supplies and equipment, in addition to travel costs for the 600-mile round trip back and forth from Claremont to Rock Creek, including cross-country backpacking.”