Jeane Reeves Scholarship Program Recipients

The Georgia Native Plant Society provides up to ten GNPS Symposium scholarships each year to students with a passion for native plants, interns at Nature Centers or Botanical Gardens and interpretative naturalists at State Parks and Historic Sites. Thousands visit State Parks annually and Park personnel manage many significant natural areas in the state. GNPS considers it a privilege to provide an educational opportunity and networking forum for these custodians and interpreters of our native plant heritage and for those young people considering native plants as their profession.

The Cullowhee Native Plant Conference is a quarter of a century old. This wonderful event has been bringing botanists, landscape architects, garden designers, ecologists, native plant growers and propagators, academics, restorationists, artists, gardeners and students together from all over the southeast to immerse themselves in native plants. A scholarship program was begun many years ago by one of the Cullowhee founders, Darrel Morrison. GNPS owes its beginning to this Conference. GNPS has provided scholarship money from its formation. The scholarship program was named for Jeane Reeves in memory of one of the Society’s founders and was expanded to offer 5 field trip scholarships to the Conference each year for students with a passion for native plants. Scholarship applications are managed by the conference scholarship committee.

Here are the recipients of the 2008 scholarships:

2008 GNPS Symposium ($50 each, $500 total)

Carrie Eaton – UGA Horticulture student
Ashton Griffin – Macon State College
Allen Wilson – Macon State College

Below are Georgia State Parks Interpretative Naturalists
Josh McKinley – Cloudland Canyon State Park
Sarah Mock – Skidaway Island
Chris Pope – Victoria Bryant State Park
Don Scarbrough – Sweetwater Creek State Park
Sandy Straw – The Hike Inn
Mandi Sutton – Victoria Bryant State Park
Paulette Thompson – High Falls

 

2008 Cullowhee Conference ($1400 total)

Kate Austin – a UGA Landscape Architect student recommended by Dr. Brad Davis
Laura Baran – a UGA Horticulture student recommended by Drs. Paul Thomas & Tim Smalley
Carrie Eaton – UGA MS grad student in Horticulture recommended by Dr. Jim Affolter
Stribling Stuber – graduate of Agnes Scott working at the JW Jones Ecological Research Center in Newton, Georgia, recommended by Dr. Katherine Kirkman

 

From left to right: Laura Baran, Kate Austin, Carrie Eaton, and Stribling Stuber

From left to right: Laura Baran, Kate Austin, Carrie Eaton, and Stribling Stuber


 

Georgia Native Plant Society Members,
I would like to thank you for allowing me to attend the Native Plant Conference in Cullowhee, North Carolina. There I was able to talk with others from nearby areas and share our knowledge of native plants. Through the conference I gained useful information that I will be able to take back and use in the Dunson native flora garden. I plan to use what I have learned to allow the guests to continue enjoying the beauty of the garden. It was nice to have some of the talks as a review and others to learn about new plants and ideas. I took something away from each and every lecture. I really enjoyed the conference. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity.
Thank you,
Laura Baran


September 15, 2008

To all of the wonderful folks at the Georgia Native Plant Society.

I want to sincerely thank you all for creating scholarships for the Cullowhee Native Plant Converence, and for choosing me as a recipient! The Cullowhee Conference was the first conference I’ve attended, and what a first! It really is a blessing so early in my career to be exposed to so many warm, friendly people interested in native plants. To be honest, I had no idea there were so many native plant enthusiasts out there!

At the conference, I was able to make new and helpful connections, and I found a wealth of practical advice as well. Most importantly, I think the conference challenged me to improve my own awareness of native plant issues especially in the southeast. Thank you all again for this great opportunity. I enjoyed meeting many of you at the conference – hopefully next year I will be in a position to attend again, and I will see you there!

Take care,
Stribling Stuber

P.S. I have enclosed some photos of Cullowhee fun!

2008_Stribling_Thank_You

 

On the fieldtrip with Jan Midgley's Native Plants propagation workshop. This was my favorite spot along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Such diversity on a vertical surface!

On the fieldtrip with Jan Midgley’s Native Plants propagation workshop. This was my favorite spot along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Such diversity on a vertical surface!

A group of us scholarship recipients entered with a silly skit in the talent show and won! Here we are celebrating with our prize Cullowhee Bucks.

A group of us scholarship recipients entered with a silly skit in the talent show and won! Here we are celebrating with our prize Cullowhee Bucks.

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