Student Scholarship Program

Student Scholarship Grant Program

In 2019, our chapter established a grant program to encourage college and university students to undertake research and projects on California native plants within Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The goal of the scholarship is to advance the accessibility of native plant research in addition to increasing the feasibility of a project emphasizing the natives in our two beautiful counties. Qualifying topics include, but are not limited to: the ecology of native plants, plant communities, pollination ecology, seed dispersal, taxonomy, phenology, restoration, conservation, and more.

2026 Graduate Student Recipient: Izzy Lopez

Izzy Lopez is an MA/PhD Geography student at UC Santa Barbara conducting research on central California coastal sage scrub communities. Izzy grew up at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains in Agoura Hills, and has had a lifelong fascination and appreciation for native California ecosystems. While pursuing an undergraduate degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology, she interned with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area as a native plant restoration technician. She has also previously worked in conservation roles with a variety of organizations including the Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, and New Hampshire Fish and Game. She joined UCSB Geography in 2024 as a graduate student in the Spatial Conservation and Landscape Ecology (SCALE) lab.

Izzy’s CNPSCI-supported research investigates phenology (life cycle) shifts in coastal sage scrub ecosystems in response to climate change. This research, which will take place at The Nature Conservancy’s Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve at Point Conception in Santa Barbara County, will focus on community and individual-level phenological plasticity. Izzy’s work will be accomplished through monitoring and modeling efforts using remote sensing technology. This will provide critical insights into coastal sage scrub responses to climate change while informing adaptive conservation and restoration practices in these sensitive and unique ecosystems.

2026 Undergraduate Student Recipient: Kai Suzuki

Kai Susuki grew up in Orange County, and he is expecting a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara in Spring 2026. He was always broadly interested in the flora and fauna around him, but his strong interest in plants did not appear until he interned at UCSB’s Cheadle Center Herbarium and started undergraduate research. In addition, Kai has volunteered his time in restoration projects for vernal pools and wetlands around California. He hopes to apply his experience towards a career in the botanical sciences.

Project: A coastal California lupine hiding in plain sight? Taxonomic reevaluation of Lupinus arboreus and L. propinquus (Fabaceae)

Kai is working with Dr. Greg Wahlert’s team at UCSB to collect and analyze morphological and molecular data on the yellow bush lupine, Lupinus arboreus Sims. Both the yellow and blue-purple versions of the bush lupine are native to California, however the blue-purple version was formerly named under Lupinus propinquus Greene. Kai is using both visual and genetic traits to find evidence for reinstatement of L. propinquus. This work can help temper the lack of taxonomic studies for lupines in California.

Previous Grant Recipients

2025:  Lauren Glevanik;

2024:  Selene Lopez, CSUCI;  The Antibacterial Potential of Chumash Medicinal Plants of California

2022:  Mary Cadogan, UCSB;  Seed Predation and Herbivory Study for an endangered species, the Nipomo Mesa lupine (Lupinus nipomensis).

2021:  Stephanie Calloway, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Recruitment limitations of the northern island mallow (Malva assurgentiflora subsp. assurgentiflora) on Anacapa Island

2021: Annie Meeder, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo;  Analysis of Alternative Post-Eradication Transitions and Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Grasslands on Santa Cruz Island.

2019:  Theresa Lujan, Cal State University, Channel Islands; Phylogenetic and Morphological Analyses of Channel Islands Endemic Malacothrix.