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 research, restoration, education, advocacy, sustainability, and nature immersion), as well as their intention on addressing pressing environmental issues 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 be pursuing a career connected to the environmental field
  • Must be able to attend the Youth Fellows weekend
  • Must be willing to carry out action plan developed during Youth Fellows weekend
  • 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
May 1 Applications open
September 11 Application deadline
September 25 Reference submission deadline
September 28 Winners announced
October 16–17 Youth Fellows weekend
May 6 Final Fellows meeting
By May 15 Scholarship awards distributed

 

Youth Fellowship Experiences

Fellows Weekend:
  • Fellows will get to know each other through team building and group service activities.
  • Fellows will learn about local environmental issues through in-depth discussions and engagement with local experts.  
  • Fellows will work through the Design Thinking Method to create an action plan that each individual student can carry out in their own community.

Community Involvement:

  • Fellows will individually carry out the action plan the group created during the Fellows Weekend between October 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.
  • In early May, fellows will debrief about their experience with their community and will share their experience with Garden staff and invited guests.

 

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 career
    Application Form
  2. Have two (2) references who are familiar with applicants 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.
    3. Reference Form

Garden Youth Fellows