Elmhurst Garden Club awards scholarships
The Elmhurst Garden Club recently honored scholarship recipients at its annual "Meet the Scholars" luncheon at the Wilder Mansion.
Each winner of the Mildred Hartney Scholarship presented a short program about their research, activities or interests related to sustaining and protecting the environment.
Their programs included discussions of bacteria that's damaging to plant life; fish friendly irrigation; sustainable agriculture; bison and the prairie; and educating students to "live a green life every day."
The club this year has awarded more than $15,000 in scholarships to college students who are majoring in areas related to the environment, horticulture, conversation, landscape design, and/or science education.
Three students received $3,000 scholarships. They are Larissa Root, Southern Illinois University; Liangyuan "Ashley" Yu, University of Illinois-Champaign; and Maria Weston, Northern Illinois University.
Two others received $1,250 scholarships. They are Jacob Matsche and Charles Pozen, both of Elmhurst College.
Lily Neppl of Purdue University received an $800 scholarship.
In addition, the garden club has supported experiential learning programs for York High School students. Those receiving an award are Glory Jacquat for an Environmental Science Leadership Academy ($1,700); and Kevin Homan ($500) and York High School Garden Club Adviser Andrew Bendelow ($395) to attend the "From Farm to Cafeteria Conference" in Madison, Wisconsin.
The club also donated $750 to the Morton Arboretum for scholarships for its Counselor-in-Training program.
All of the scholarship money came from the proceeds of the Garden Walk and Faire, held the second Sunday of July.
Since 1999, the Elmhurst Garden Club has awarded more than $115,000 to worthy students.
Applications for the Mildred Hartney Scholarship, named for a former club member, are available on the Elmhurst Garden Club's website, along with applications for a York High School student to attend an exploratory program. The next deadline is May 1.