Missouri Botanical Garden Youth Fellowship Program

The Missouri Botanical Garden Youth Fellowship Program recognizes the top high school seniors in the St. Louis region for their work as environmental stewards. Recipients will participate in a competitive fellowship program with like-minded peers and receive a $500 scholarship for higher education.

Awardees will be selected based on their past work in at least two environmental fields (including plant science, research, restoration, education, advocacy, sustainability, and nature immersion), as well as their intention on addressing pressing environmental issues or studying plant science in a future career.

Fellowship applicant qualifications:

  • Must reside in the 16-county St. Louis metropolitan region*
  • Must be a rising high school senior
  • Must have a strong interest in the environmental, horticulture or botany fields
  • Must be able to attend the Youth Fellows virtual workshops
  • Must be willing to carry out project developed during virtual meetings
  • Must be willing to present about fellowship experience to near peer community (e.g., high school, youth group)
  • Must be entering a higher education program in 2021–2022 (community college, university, technical school)

*St. Louis metropolitan area includes the following counties:  Missouri – Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis City, St. Louis Co., Warren; Illinois – Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, St. Clair

Application Form

 

2020–2021 Timeline
January 8 Application deadline
January 15 Reference submission deadline
January 25 Winners announced
February 8 Orientation (virtual)
February 20 Working meeting (virtual)
March–April Complete project
April 7 Fellows meeting (virtual)
May 6 Presentations (virtual)
by May 15 Scholarship awards distributed

 

Youth Fellowship Experiences

Fellows Virtual Meetings:
  • Fellows will get to know each other through virtual team building activities.
  • Fellows will learn about local environmental issues and plant science topics and will choose one to focus on for the duration of the program.  
  • Fellows will work through the Design Thinking Method to create an action plan that each individual student can carry out in their own community following social distancing safety guidelines, or virtually through an approved platform.

Community Involvement:

  • Fellows will individually carry out the plan they created during the Fellows meetings between February and April.
  • Fellows will present to one of their community groups (school, church, etc.) about their experience in environmental stewardship throughout high school and experience with the fellowship. This presentation may be done virtually.
  • In early May, fellows will debrief about their experience with their community and will share their experience with Garden staff and invited guests in a virtual Zoom meeting.

 

Application

To apply:

  1. Complete application, highlighting:
    • Previous work in at least at least two of the following environmental component areas during high school tenure:
      • Research
      • Restoration
      • Education
      • Advocacy
      • Sustainability
      • Nature immersion
    • Future plans in an environmental or plant science career or how your passion for the environment plays a role in your life.
      Application Form
  2. Have two (2) references who are familiar with applicant's work in environmental stewardship fill out reference form. References can be community members and/or teachers, but cannot include family members. You must provide the email addresses for references at time of application submission.
    Reference Form

Garden Youth Fellows

Learn about the 2019–2020 fellows!