Conservation & Ecological RestorationAdrienne Ernst
2019 The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration

Adrienne Ernst is a PhD candidate in the Plant Biology and Conservation Department at Northwestern University and Chicago Botanic Garden. She investigates how the diversity sown into a restoration affects the outcomes—focusing on invasion resistance. Standard diversity metrics do not account for species characteristics that may confer invasion resistance. Instead, her research focuses on phylogenetic and functional diversity, metrics which incorporate species identity. Ernst evaluates these metrics as potential ways to increase invasion resistance in restorations by manipulating native species composition.
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).