Grant Requirements
Hot off the press! Check out a recently published article from Tamsen Dunn, past grant recipient: Boechera sierraensis: a newly discovered apomictic species from the Sierra Nevada with exceptional stress tolerance | Plant Systematics and Evolution | Springer Nature Link
Grants are for research and projects that increase the understanding and appreciation of native plants and ecosystems in the Bristlecone Chapter area, including the northern Mojave Desert, Sierra Nevada, and Great Basin portions of eastern California in Inyo and Mono counties. Grant funds are primarily targeted to graduate students, college students, and primary and secondary students (K-12) and their teachers. See the grant application (pdf) for further details.
Grant recipients receive up to $1,500 each for expenses and are asked to submit a progress report at the end of the year and to present their results to the Bristlecone Chapter either at a regular meeting or in the chapter newsletter.
Past projects have included a wide range of graduate student research projects as well as elementary school education programs, a native plant mural, native plant gardens, and invasive weed removal projects. See below for a complete list.
These grants are supported by our chapter’s annual native plant sale.
Apply for the DeDecker Grant
Mary DeDecker Botanical Grant Application (pdf)
- New request for proposals are posted and sent out annually at the end of the year (late fall, early winter)
- 2026 Grant Deadline is January 16, 2026
- Applicants will be notified of award by early March 2026
- For more information, contact the DeDecker Botanical Grants Coordinator at grants@bristleconecnps.org
2026 Grant Recipients and their projects
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Charles Boissavy – Phylogenetics, taxonomy and biogeography of the Latifolia clade of Eriogonum
- Carey Alex Cisneros – Impact of species interactions on the population stability of a California native alpine plant
- Erica Fontanez – Phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of Chloropyron
- Samantha Ingram – Unraveling the taxonomic and phylogenetic complexity of Ericameria parryi in the Western United States
- Ava Joseph – Alpine origins and evolution in a mega-genus: a systematic and biogeographical study of western North American Astragalus
- Mia Manfredi – An integrative study examining the disjunct didstribution of Salvia funerea M.E. Jones (Death Valley Sage, Lamiaceae)
- Sachi Srivastava – Leapfrog at record heights: investigating the spread, drivers, and spatial dynamics of Pinus jeffreyi population establishment above timberline in the Sierra Nevada
- Yarrow Syskine Vasilievna – Drivers of seedling traits and phenotypic plasticity across the range of Pinus monophyla
- Zoe Wood – Functional trait-mediated ecological interactions on an alpine sticky plant (Hulsea algida)
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2025 Grant Recipients and their projects
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Charles Boissavy – Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Latifolia clade of Eriogonum with emphasis on Eriogonum nudum – second year – see Grant Report Here
- Sarah DeGroot – Botanical Exploration and Documentation in the southern Last Chance range, Death Valley NP – see Grant Report Here
- Mahima Dixit – Phylogeny and Taxonomy of Eriogonum subgenus Ganysma with a Focus on the E. deflexum complex (Polygonaceae) and Phytochemical Diversity across Eriogonum.
- Samantha Ingram – Unraveling the Taxonomy and Phylogenetic Relationships of Ericameria parryi in the Western United States
- Mia Manfredi – An Integrative Study Examining the Disjunction of Salvia funerea M.E. Jones (Death Valley Sage, Lamiaceae) – See Progress Report Here.
- Hugh Safford – Field surveys for high elevation Jeffrey pine and other trees in the southern Sierra Nevada – See Grant Report Here – See UC Davis story about his research – Extreme Tree Hunt in the Sierra Nevada
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2024 Grant Recipients and their progress reports
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Charles Boissavy – Phylogeny and Taxonomy of the Latifolia clade of Eriogonum with emphasis on Eriogonum nudum – see progress report
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Rachel Tageant – A Floristic Inventory of the Owens River Headwater Wilderness – 2nd year of funding this project – see progress report
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Matthew Yamamoto – A Flora of the McGee Creek Watershed, Mono County, California – see progress report
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Allison Autry – Conserving Rare and Disjunct Orchids in a Changing American West – see progress report
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Past Grant Recipients and Progress Reports
2023 Grant Recipients
- Rachel Friesen – Climate change and alpine plant community turnover in Yosemite National Park – see progress report also see a report on Rachel’s work on Mount Dana here: From the White Mountains to Yosemite: New Vegetation Monitoring Transects Established on Mt. Dana
- Mahima Dixit – Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Eriogonum deflexum complex – see progress report
- Peri Lee Pipkin – A floristic inventory of the Silver Peak Range – see video of Peri Lee’s presentation on March 23, 2023 at White Mountain Research Center here and see end of year progress report here
- Kimberly Schaefer – A vascular flora of the Sacatar Trail Wilderness – see progress report
- Rachel Tageant – A floristic inventory of the Owens River Headwater Wilderness – see progress report
- Zoe Wood – From museum to field and back: Inyo National Forest herbarium collections in the viewfinder – see progress report
Other Grant Opportunities
The State California Native Plant Society has five different types of Educational Grants available.
Please see details at http://www.cnps.org/cnps/education/grants.php
See other individual chapter websites for additional opportunities.