Student Grant Program

Student Restoration Implementation Grant:  The Student Restoration Implementation Grant was introduced in 2016 to encourage and support student involvement in the practice of ecological restoration within the regional boundaries of SER MWGL Chapter. The Chapter will award two grants (one Research, one Implementation) of up to $4,000 each to an eligible student, student group, or student-oriented group to be used for supplies, equipment, and other items that will support implementation of restoration practices. Grant funds cannot be used for travel to the SER MWGL annual meeting. The award winners will be announced on the chapter blog/website. 

Examples of types of project implementation proposals that the Chapter would consider supporting include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) implementation of restoration projects by student groups; 2) support student group participation in volunteer work days at restoration site or sites; and 3) support student group education or outreach event developed to educate the public about a restoration project that they have implemented or education/outreach about restoration project that others have implemented. SER MWGL 2023 Student Grants RFP_final

Student Restoration Research Grant: The Student Restoration Research Grant was introduced in 2014 to encourage and support student involvement in research in ecological restoration within the regional boundaries of the SER MWGL Chapter. The Chapter will award two grants (one Research, one Implementation) of up to $4,000 each.

See SER MWGL 2023 Student Grants RFP_final.

SER MWGL is pleased to offer a Student Restoration Implementation Grant and Student Restoration Research Grant annually. Grants are competitive and available to student Chapter members at any institution of higher education occurring within the region of SER MWGL Chapter. Award recipients will be announced on the chapter blog/website and the recipient will be expected to present an oral or poster presentation about their funded project at the Annual Chapter Meeting one year later.

2023 Student Restoration Implementation Grant Winners

Aishwarya Veerabahu, University of Wisconsin-Madison – Research Grant

Aishwarya earned her B.S. in Biology from the chapparal hills of UC Riverside in Southern California. After graduating, her passion for ecology led her to become a naturalist and an environmental educator. After spending time in the rich forests of the Adirondacks in upstate NY, she was inspired to study fungi and their role in forest health. For her PhD in fungal ecology, she intends to broadly study biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. She currently works on the ecological impact of non-native Golden Oyster fungi on native microbial communities in Wisconsin.

Jordan Zapata, Michigan State University – Research Grant

Hi, I’m Jordan Zapata. I’m an undergrad at Michigan State University studying plant biology. Michigan’s wetlands are unique and important ecosystems, and I’m very fortunate to be working in one this summer!

Ava Hohn, Madison Luna, and Bella Evan-Cook, Drake University – Implementation Grant

Ava Hohn, Madison Luna, and Bella Evan-Cook are students from Drake University working with Perry, Iowa to help establish and create a management plan for a newly planted 2-acre prairie as their capstone project for the environmental science department. Thank you for this opportunity, the grant awarded will go toward adding plant plugs to the prairie site and to support their efforts in creating a beautiful outdoor space.

Previous Student Restoration Implementation Grant Winners

The SER Student Chapter of The Ohio State University for their project “Replanting the urban riparian forest along the Olentangy River in Columbus, Ohio.”

SER MWGL Student Chapter at The Ohio State University out standing in their field.
2019: Jack Zinnen for his work “Creating seed production areas for high quality prairie forbs at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve”

 

 

 

2017:  Anna Peschel for her work on whether “adaptive evolution can proceed at a sufficiently rapid pace to maintain population fitness and demographic stability”
Red Bison2016: Red Bison, a Student Organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for their work on “Restoring prairie patches in an urban landscape to support native biodiversity and reconnect city residents with their region’s ecological heritage”

 

 

Previous Student Restoration Research Grant Winners

2020 Brian Charles for his research “Predicting outcomes in restored riparian wetlands: Using functional traits, species composition, and species richness to explain restoration outcomes.”

Brian Charles, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2019: Julia Brokaw for her work on “Maximizing the potential of prairie restoration and management for ground-nesting bees”.
2018:  Adrienne Ernst for her work on “The Effects of Phylogenic Diversity and Functional Diversity on Invasibility of Restored Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystems”. PhD Candidate, Plant Biology and Conservation, Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University.
Becky Barak2016: Becky Barak, Northwestern University, for her project “Do seed traits predict germination and persistence of plant species in prairie restoration?”
Amy Alstad2014: Amy Alstad, Ph.D. student, Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, “Seed size as a determinant of recruitment success in prairie restoration”