Mary DeDecker Botanical Grant Program
In 2001, the Bristlecone Chapter established a grants program as a fitting tribute to Mary DeDecker, a renowned local botanist and founding member of our chapter. Our goal is to facilitate research and projects that increase the understanding and appreciation of native plants and ecosystems in the Eastern Sierra.
Anyone may apply for a grant, but we are especially interested in helping graduate students, college students, and primary and secondary students (K-12). Research projects need not be academic or scholarly but must be relevant to the native plants of the northern Mojave Desert, Sierra Nevada, and Great Basin portions of eastern California. Applications from students must include written support from a major advisor or teacher.
Grant recipients receive up to $1,000 each for expenses and are asked to present their results to the Bristlecone Chapter either at a regular meeting or in the chapter newsletter. Recipients must submit a progress report at the end of the year. The request for proposals is sent to universities and schools in September with the deadline for submissions in early December. Applicants will be notified by the end of January.
We have awarded grants to graduate students for research on various ecological, taxonomic and physiological aspects of our native flora. We have also helped to fund an education program on native plants for local schools, a mural project which included native plants, native plant gardens and invasive weed eradication projects.
These grants are supported by the annual native plant sale.
Apply for a Grant
Mary DeDecker Botanical Grant Application (pdf)
- New request for proposals will be posted and sent out annually in September at the latest
- Grant Deadline is early December (in 2012 the deadline for a 2013 grant is December 10, 2012)
- Applicants will be notified of award by the end of January (for 2013, by January 28, 2013)
- For more information, contact the DeDecker Botanical Grants Coordinator at grants@bristleconecnps.org
Previous Grant Awards
Recent Recipients
2013 DeDecker Grant Recipients
Graduate student recipients:
- Erika Gardner, Claremont Graduate University, “A vascular flora of the Kiavah Wilderness in the Scodie Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, Kern County, California”
- Elaine Chow, University of California, Davis, “Does invasive barbwire Russian thistle threaten the endangered Eureka Valley evening-primrose?”
- Lara Kobelt, Northern Arizona University, “Populations of Abies concolor in three mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert”
- Joy England, Claremont Graduate University, “Vascular flora of the Upper Rock Creek watershed, eastern Sierra Nevada, California” (Progress report from 2012 here)
2012 DeDecker Grant Recipients
2011 DeDecker Grant Recipients
2010 DeDecker Grant Recipients
2009 DeDecker Grant Recipients
Projects Previously Funded (2004 or earlier):
- Flora of the Glass Mountain Region, Mono County, CA
- Ruth Timme, San Francisco State University - Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Polemonium (polemoniaceae) using both molecular sequence data and morphological characters
- Eve Laeger - Survey and Collection of Bryoflora in the deserts and mountains
- Linah Ababneh, University of Arizona - The response of high altitude subalpine pine forests to elevated CO2 and nitrogen dispositions
- Hester Bell, Ranch Santa Ana Botanic Garden - Swallenia alexandrae and its relationship to Distichlis (Saltgrass)
- Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve's Outdoor Education Program - The Native Plant Project
- Aaron Bagge, University of California, Santa Cruz - Why do hummingbird-pollinated plants produce dilute nectar? Plant fitness tradeoffs between nectar concentration and pollination in Ipomopsis aggregata
