Conservation & Ecological RestorationSarah Klionsky
2021 The Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration
Influence of Plant Community Traits and Microtopography on Nitrogen Removal in Restored Wetlands on Former Cranberry Bogs
Klionsky’s research focuses on outcomes of wetland restoration on former agricultural land. She works in retired cranberry bogs, studying abiotic controls on vegetation response and how vegetation and microtopography interact to impact nitrogen dynamics. She aims to understand whether plant community traits can be used to predict denitrification potential and how photogrammetric imaging can help scale results up to larger areas. Her results will inform ongoing wetland restoration planning and design.
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).