Conservation & Ecological RestorationAdam Eichenwald
2021 The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
Predicting Cascading Extinctions and a Potential for Restoration in the Mojave Desert
Eichenwald’s work, which combines community ecology and conservation biology, investigates how knowledge of species interactions can be applied to environmental management. He will examine whether the decline of the desert tortoise in the Mojave Desert negatively impacts other native species, as the tortoise digs burrows that these other animals can hide in to escape from lethal summer heat. This analysis of how species in this community react to variations in the environment will provide critical information for adaptive management of the ecosystem, particularly as temperatures increase due to climate change.
The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
The Garden Club of America (the GCA) offers an annual Fellowship in Ecological Restoration. Established in 2000 with funds from the John B. Young Charitable Trust as well as GCA members and clubs, the fellowship’s goal is to support research that will advance knowledge and increase the number of scientists in the important field of ecological restoration, the active healing of the land. The $8,000 grant is awarded annually to exceptional graduate students to support specialized study in ecological restoration at an accredited U.S. university. Preference will be given to projects that include field research conducted in the United States. A panel of experts associated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the GCA Scholarship Committee.
For the purposes of this scholarship, The Garden Club of America agrees to the definition of ecological restoration as stated by the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER).