The Environmental Scholarship Guide

Winning an environmental scholarship may not be as hard as it seems. Finding one is an entirely different matter.

Even though there are hundreds of environmental scholarships available - maybe even one being offered right now in your own hometown - you probably haven't heard about them... Or, at least, not too many of them. That's because they aren't usually advertised too loudly.

So, where are they? More importantly, how can you win them?

As you might expect, with regard to environmental scholarships, there's some good news and some bad news:

THE GOOD NEWS: There are hundreds and hundreds of scholarship opportunities available to students studying the environment, and you're probably eligible for at least a few of them.

THE BAD NEWS: None of them are going to jump up and grab you.

This article offers a practical game plan for those of you who are trying to track down and win environmental scholarships to help you on the path to an environmental career. Get ready, though, because you'll find that there's a lot to do before you can even think about filling out applications.

PART 1: Where to Look for Environmental Scholarships

Who offers Them? Start a List... It could get Big!

Here's a sampler of organizations that often will offer environmental scholarships:

School, College and University Environmental Departments
Community and Civic Groups dealing with the Environment
Environmental Government Agencies (Federal, State and Local)
Professional Environmental Organizations
Conservation Organizations
Businesses and Media Outlets
Charitable Foundations with Environmental Programs
Science Fairs and Competitions

The first step for you will be to identify as many of these possibilities as you can. I'd suggest starting with the phone book to really home in on the local ones, and you'll want to search the Internet, too.

Start a list or a database file of scholarships. Include columns like "Sponsor," "Scholarship Name," "Contact Name," "Phone number," "Amount," "Requirements," and (very importantly) "Deadline."

Of course, you only want to put your valuable time into the scholarships which best suit your ambitions... or the ones you can make out to fit your ambitions (we'll get to that in the section below on Winning Environmental Scholarships). Once you've made a your list, you'll be able to take a good, hard look at which options are most worth your efforts.

Hopefully, the ideas in the next section will get you going with a good list.

The Most Excellent Starting Points

Your High School

Call your high school counselor to see what kinds of scholarships and awards are available. Very often, the schools offer monetary rewards for the best students in science or environmental fields, or the most dedicated from clubs and activities, which could include an environmental club. If not, at least, they should be able to steer you toward other sources because they hear about stuff like that all of the time.

Your University

If you are attending a college or university, or if have chosen one to attend, contact your environmental program advisor to ask what scholarships may be available. Or, environmental scholarship opportunities are often be posted on the program's web site or on a bulletin board near the office on-campus.

Note that the Federal Department of Education reports that between 1995-2000, 23% of undergrads at public institutions and 58% of students at private institutions received financial or merit-based aid. This may be an indication that there are opportunities waiting for you. Again, at the very least, you should ask about other sources if there are none available at your university for your circumstance.

Local Community Groups and Churches

There are many local groups that may not appear to be directly involved with the environment, but have a definite interest through many of their projects. Projects that could indicate an interest in the environment include park or community clean-ups, tree and garden plantings, trail building, or even bird watching. Churches, in particular, are becoming more and more involved in community beautification projects and concerned about environmental issues.

If you see, read or hear about groups doing these kinds of activities, they might be offering some kind of reward for local youths who have the same kinds of goals. Look them up and ask. Here are a few possibilities that we've seen, which you might want to check out:

Your church or religious organization
Garden Clubs
4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Future Farmers of America (FFA)
Rotary Clubs, Lion's Club, Key Club (Kiwanis)

Government Agencies

Part of the government's job is to promote the education of our youth, and many agencies offer scholarships to encourage this. Local, state and federal agencies and commissions that deal with the environment often have opportunities for prospective and current students, so contact them to find out what might be available.

Professional Organizations

By definition, professional organizations are designed to promote their profession. In large part, that entails the development of future professionals, and scholarships are a great way for them to promote that.

There are swarms of professional environmental organizations for every discipline imaginable, dealing with air, water and land on a local, regional, national, and global basis. You'll find at least 20 direct links to national organizations on this site on our resources page under Professional Organizations, and many more on the same page under Professional Organization Directories.

In your search, keep in mind that many national groups have local affiliates. And, remember how much better your chances are when you start local! Meantime, for your "scholarship ideas list," here's a small taste of the professional groups which we know offer environmental scholarships:

National

American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society - Environmental Engineering scholarship
American Fisheries Society
American Indian Science & Engineering Society
American Meteorological Society
American Nuclear Society
American Water Resources Association
Canadian Society of Agronomy
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
Entomological Society of America
First in Floriculture
Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute
National Environmental Health Association and the American Academy of Sanitarians
National Poultry & Food Distributors Association- Agriculture scholarships
Perennial Plant Association Scholarship
Professional Soil Scientists Association
United States Society on Dams
Vegetarian Resource Group - (Agriculture)

State/Regional

Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (Eastern Washington)
Air & Waste Management Association, Allegheny Mountain Section
Air & Waste Management Association, Coastal Plains Section
Air and Waste Management Assoc., Pacific Northwest International Section
Alaska Geological Society
American Society of Landscape Architects - Connecticut Chapter
Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility (Northern Calif. chapter)
Arkansas Environment Federation
Environmental Professionals' Organization of Connecticut
Associated General Contractors of Washington
British Columbia Aboriginal Fisheries Commission
California Marine Sciences Scholarship
Florida Environmental Health Association
Golden State Bonsai Federation (California)
Legacy Scholarship Program(Alabama)
Manitoba Forestry Association
National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Far Western Section
North Carolina Association of Nurserymen
Ohio Association of Independent Crop Consultants
Professional Soil Scientists Association of California Scholarship
Southern Arizona Environmental Management Society
Wisconsin Association for Food Protection
Wisconsin Environmental Health Association
Wisconsin Trappers Association

Nonprofit Conservation Organizations

Perhaps you're thinking that "nonprofit" means they don't have any money? Not necessarily true. The larger, national organizations have money, and many of them feel strongly that some of it should be funneled back to the future conservationists who are most likely to support their concerns. Even the smaller, local groups may not have a lot to give, but do so anyway to promote their causes and goodwill in their community, or to reward young people for supporting them.

Again, on our Resources page, check out the list of more than 30 big-time, national/international conservation groups. It may be worth your time to inquire via e-mail or phone, if your environmental concerns are the same as theirs. Here's a brief start of the few that we know have environmental scholarships available:

American Ground Water Trust
Audubon Society, Dayton
Center for Plant Conservation
Earth Island Institute
>Environmental Leadership Program
The Garden Club of America
Hackensack Riverkeeper Environmental Scholarship
Houston Museum Of Natural Science
Lake Superior Greens
Legacy, Partners in Environmental Education
Nantucket Conservation Foundation
National Wildlife Federation - Campus Ecology Fellowships
Ohio Academy of Science
Park People, Inc.(Houston) - Forestry Scholarship
Sierra Club
The Explorers Club
The Wilderness Society
Windstar Environmental Studies Scholarship Program

Businesses and Corporations

One creed that all successful businesses adhere to is that you have to keep your customers happy. A great way to do that is to show how much you care about them and their community once in a while. And, guess what? For some of them, offering environmental scholarships or awards is a way to do that.

There are all sorts of partnerships, including a couple you'll see on our Financial Aid page under Scholarships, like between Volvo and the Biosphere, and between Canon and the National Park Foundation. If you want to get more local, contact the Chamber of Commerce to see if they have any leads. Or try contacting the following types of companies that all have stakes in the environmental arena:

Your gas, water, electric or waste management company - for example, the Wabash County (Indiana) Solid Waste Management District's Environmental Scholarship and Aiken (South Carolina) Electric Cooperative
Big corporations - for example, the Lucent Technologies Global Science Scholars Program, The Dupont Challenge Science Essay Competition and the Budweiser Conservation Scholarship Program
Environmental firms - for example, Anchor Environmental or Brown & Caldwell Environmental Consultants
Companies that sell environmental products - for example, the Annie's Homegrown Environmental Studies Scholarship and Tender Corporation's Environmental Scholarship
Your local Chamber of Commerce - sometimes, the chambers themselves get involved, too... such as the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce Environmental Scholarship or other associations that are designed to promote a particular industry, such as Organic Trade Association

Charitable and Community Foundations

Most charitable foundations which I have investigated as having an interest in the environment offer primarily grants for projects, organizations and causes. Another strike against spending a lot of time looking into them is that it may be difficult to find a local one - unless you live in a major metropolitan area - so, the competition is likely to be stiff.

Nevertheless, there are hundreds of these organizations giving away millions of dollars every year. If you know of any locally, you should inquire. Or, you can take a glance at this list, which will give you an idea of what's out there:

The Morris K. Udall Foundation
National Science Foundation
Iowa United Methodist Foundation
Muskingum County Community Foundation
Marquette Community Foundation
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation - Wildlife Leadership Awards

I would further recommend that you take a peek at National Library for the Environment's Yellow Pages, which provides a very detailed list of "Foundations Providing Grants for Environmental Purposes," many of which likely also offer environmental scholarships.

Science Fairs, Competitions and Festivals

Once again, the competition to win these kinds of scholarships is stiff. If you're going to bank on this as your main meal ticket, you'd better be prepared to spend a lot of time.

Don't get me wrong, the rewards are substantial (I know a few students who have won them)... but that's because of the size of one's commitment, vision and dedication. Check with your local high schools for the when's, where's and why's on this one.

Of Course, Check the Web, Too

Of course, the web has some great free resources for finding specific scholarships, including those focused on the environment. It's worth it to take the time to fill out some of the long forms in order to find a few more outlets to add to your list. They're also great for information on other sources of financial aid, like student loans and state, federal and local grants.

One of the most excellent resources that you will find on the web that is specific to environmental scholarships is a book by Miriam Weinstein titled, Making A Difference: Scholarships for a Better World.

PART 2: Winning Environmental Scholarships

Trust me, as stated and demonstrated above, there are many, many scholarships for environmental students (only a small smattering is found here on our site). The following section includes a few important keys to landing one.

Don't Think "Where" to Look...Think "WHEN"

Start looking for your scholarship early!

And, I don't mean just a few months before the semester, or even six months. I mean EARLY, as in at least a year in advance... and you'll be even better off if you scout out the possibilities and starting two or more years in advance.

For example, maybe you read in the newspaper about a local scholarship recipient - newspapers love that kind of stuff. Take note! Find out who won it and what they did to win it. Contact the sponsoring organization and find out the details for next year.

Same goes for scholarships you may come across on the web which have already been awarded, or when you see one for which the deadline has already passed. The vast majority of the time, these scholarships will be available again in a year

Next: Think Local

Now, before you get any more specific, realize this: Your best chance of winning an environmental scholarship is to focus on local organizations.

Sure, you can chase after the really big bucks that are widely publicized. But, your odds are far greater in your own local area with a local group because you may only be going up against a few other local students, versus the entire student population of the country.

While you might think that the monetary reward may not justify the effort, remember that the effort might not be all that much. And, it sure won't hurt to put any environmental award-winning performance on your application for colleges, or on your resume when applying for jobs.

Position Yourself

When you give yourself plenty of time, you can "position" yourself much better to qualify.

In other words, if there are requirements that you may not have met or excelled in, now you have a year to do it and really impress the judges! Take a hard look at what past winners did to win, and learn from what they did right.

When you start late, then it's less likely that you'll have done exactly what the judges are looking for, and you may have to stretch things to make it appear that you did. That isn't the best position to be in.

If possible (and it's not always), do what you can to talk to some of the people granting the scholarships and find out specifically what they're looking for. There may be more to the application than you'll find in the instructions.

Apply Early!

Most people turn their stuff in at the last minute, so don't you dare be in with that crowd! When the application deadline approaches, you must get your stuff in early to stand out from the crowd.

First impressions last! If your application is strong, and you get it in the hands of the judges early, then there's a much better chance that they will remember you. You need to show that you're different from the rest, more deserving than the rest. An important way to do that it to get it done before the rest - one to two weeks in advance should be plenty.

Start early, think ahead. Your chances will be much better.

Reality Checks

Reality Check #1: Be wary of folks on the web, in the mail or on the phone who tell say you must pay them in order to get a scholarship. The offers may sound enticing, but it also may be a marketing trick.

The Federal Trade Commission warns scholarship seekers about scholarship scams and you'll see similar warnings on almost all of the scholarship search web sites, so please take a look at what they have to say, for your own good.

Reality Check #2: You won't find too many environmental scholarships that will provide a free ride the entire way through the college experience. Yes, there are some. But the competition is fierce, with thousands of students applying, and you'd better not bet your house that you'll get one - no matter how good you are.

The most abundant scholarships are in the $250 to $2,000 range, and that's mostly what you'll find here on our site and referenced in this article. Before you scoff, remember that every little bit helps, and even the smallest scholarship will buy some pretty expensive books for a semester or two.

Conclusion

The Possibilities are Endless

As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities for finding environmental scholarships.

That doesn't necessarily mean that you will find a dozen, or even a half-dozen, local opportunities just waiting for you to step up and cash the check. But you might! And without making a list as we've discussed in this article, your chances of finding any at all become much smaller.

You can see that there's a lot of work involved to just find these environmental opportunities...but that's nothing compared to the work you'll need to put in to win them.

Bottom line, though: There's plenty of scholarship money available in the environmental field. You just need to show that you're worth the investment.

And, if you are dedicated to pursuing an environmental career, you may even enjoy the work it takes to stand out from the crowd.

Written by Ward Allebach for EnviroEducation.com.