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Coastal Wetlands StudiesAviva Lerman

2026 The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies

Cascading Effects of Shorebird Biodiversity Loss on Burrowing Ecosystem Engineers and Their Impacts on Salt Marsh Ecosystem Functions

Shorebirds in salt marshes are declining across North America, with expedited rates of decline occurring along the mid-Atlantic. Declines in shorebird populations likely have important consequences for tidal marsh ecosystems, as shorebirds are important predators of engineering organisms, like the fiddler crab, Minuca pugnax. This experiment, deployed in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, seeks to understand how the continuous reduction of shorebird populations may affect M. pugnax burrowing behavior and the implications for this altered relationship on tidal marsh ecological functioning.

School: Drexel University

The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies

To promote, expand, and enrich the body of research concerning the coast by actively supporting graduate students in the field of coastal wetlands science.

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2026

Caroline Lavoie

The Garden Club of America Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture

Drawing the Invisible Waters: Rome, Memory, and the Embodied City, will trace Rome’s hidden...

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2026

Adele Woodmansee

The Loy McCandless Marks Scholarship (an International Scholarship in Tropical Horticulture or Landscape Architecture)

Leveraging barley landrace diversity for adaptation in the High Atlas MountainsI have initiated...

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2026

Nicolina Lentine

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

How does artificial salinization impact soil pH?For my experiment, I will examine how adding NaCl...

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2026

Chase Wunder

The Caroline Thorn Kissel Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship

Assessing the Movement Ecology of Sheepshead in Response to Their Re-emergence in the Northern...

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2026

Sophia Richter

The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Tropical Botany

Effects of large herbivore extinction on Euphorbia in African savannasGlobal declines in large...

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2026

Liam Abbey

The Katharine M. Grosscup Scholarships in Horticulture

Drought and its Effects on Oryza sativa 'Kitaake' Expressing CspBDrought experiments are...

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2026

Taleigh Adrian

The Garden Club of America Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship

Influence of Woody Encroachment on Grassland Butterfly Populations, Including Threatened Dakota...

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2026

Daniel Agis

The Joan K. Hunt and Rachel M. Hunt Summer Scholarship in Field Botany

Florida Plant Rescue: Conservation of Matelea floridana, Sideroxylon alachuense, and Verbesina...

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2026

Sam Ahler

The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration

It’s a grass’s world, but does it have to be? Testing contingencies in the heterogeneity...

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2026

Mary Badger

The Frances M. Peacock Scholarship for Native Bird Habitat

American Kestrels in Agroecosystems: Effects of Extreme Heat and Land Use on Movement and...

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2026

Kelly Baggatts

The Garden Club of America Zone VI Fellowship in Urban Forestry

THE CASEY TREES-BARBARA SHEA AWARD IN URBAN FORESTRY “Evaluating Urban Food Forestry as...

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2026

Andrew Balder

The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies

Profiling Coastal Atlantic White Cedar Swamps Along the Northern Gulf CoastThis project will...

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2026

Jacob Baldner

The Zeller Summer Scholarship in Medicinal Botany

Conservation Research of Species of Concern in the Darhad Valley of MongoliaThis summer, I will...

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2026

Annabelle Ball

The Keller Scholarship in Conservation Horticulture

St. Mary’s University Pocket Prairie ProjectThe Pocket Prairie Project is an 100% volunteer-run...

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2026

Tabitha Bartrum

The Katharine M. Grosscup Scholarships in Horticulture

Tuition for Undergraduate Degree at Michigan State UniversityTabitha Bartrum is a first year...

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2026

Samuel Bosio

The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Tropical Botany

Local Impacts of Rats on Native Plant Regeneration in HawaiʻiHawaiʻi has disproportionately more...

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