Conservation & Ecological RestorationRachel Becknell
2019 The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
Rachel Becknell is a PhD candidate in the Evolution, Ecology, and Population Biology Program at Washington University in St. Louis and performs research at the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tyson Research Center. She is interested in the effects of soil microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi and fungal pathogens, on the ability for rare and endangered plant species to become established in tallgrass prairie and glade restorations. Becknell will use molecular techniques to assess the impacts of soil microbes from remnant prairies and old elds where tallgrass prairie restorations typically occur on the growth and persistence of four hard-to-establish prairie species.
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).