Grants & Scholarships
Grants & Scholarships
Samull Classroom Herb Garden Grants
The Samull Grant application for 2024 is now closed. Recipients will be notified after December 1, 2023.
Thanks to the generosity of Donald Samull, who made a planned gift to The Herb Society of America, an herb garden grant program for elementary school classes was established more than a decade ago. These grants ensure that learning about herbs can be part of the curriculum, a resource Mr. Samull — an elementary school teacher — regularly used in his own classroom.
Elementary classrooms grades K-6 with ten students or more may apply for a grant to establish an herb garden. In addition to plants, the funds may be used for supplies such as soil, plants trays, containers, child or youth sized tools, etc. Fifteen grants of $300 each are awarded annually.
If you are interested in applying for a 2025 grant, visit this website in the summer of 2024 for more information.
2023 Research Grant Award
HSA is pleased to announce the winner of the 2023 Research Grant, Dr. Jill Bennett Toomey. Dr. Bennett-Toomey got her undergraduate degree from University of Oregon and her PhD from University of Illinois at Chicago where she researched inflammatory responses. Dr. Bennett-Toomey lives in Ada Ohio with her husband and two young sons. She teaches anatomy and physiology and cell biology at Ohio Northern University where she is establishing her lab to study inflammation and the ability of plant extracts to interfere with inflammatory pathways.
This is important work, as according to the World Health Organization, diseases associated with chronic inflammation affect 60% of Americans and worldwide, three-of-five people die due to chronic inflammatory diseases. This $10,000 grant will allow her to explore the mechanisms by which Monarda family herbs (bee-balms), which have been used historically to treat inflammation, work. The HSA research grant is her first major grant as a young researcher starting her own lab and Dr. Bennett-Toomey has undergraduate mentees. In awarding this grant, the HSA is supporting the next generations of herbal researchers.
Regional Scholarships
HSA members are generous when it comes to sharing herbal knowledge and enthusiastic about educating the next generation. Individual Units have even created scholarships to encourage the study of horticulture.
Horticulture Scholarship of the Western Reserve Herb Society
Scholarships available for the 2024-2025 academic year:
The Western Reserve Herb Society offers Plant Science scholarships. These are open to students who have completed the second/sophomore year of undergraduate study and are enrolled in a bachelor’s degree. The applicants for these scholarships must be attending an accredited college or university and have achieved a grade point average of 3.2 or above.
The National Scholarship covers all accredited colleges and universities in the United States. There will be two (2) awards of $5,500 each.
The Ohio Scholarship award is restricted to students studying at an accredited institution within the state of Ohio. All Ohio candidates are also automatically considered for the National Scholarship. There will be two (2) awards of $6,500 each.
Preference is given to applicants who demonstrate exceptional dedication through outside experiences and whose career goals may involve work in areas such as the public or nonprofit sector, education, sustainability, and research.
Students studying at a college or university in the state of Ohio are automatically considered for both the National AND the Ohio Scholarships.
For further information about these scholarships, including award amounts, eligibility requirements, and application procedures and forms, please visit the Scholarship page on the Western Reserve Herb Society website.
LINK to more information and application.
Central Indiana Culinary Scholarship
Application deadline October 24
The Central Indiana Unit is proud to announce the establishment of a $500 culinary scholarship. Through this scholarship the Central Indiana Unit recognizes the generous support of local chefs through education and outreach. The scholarship is to be applied to the tuition of a second year student enrolled in a Central Indiana Culinary Arts Program who shows an interest in herbs and their uses. For more information CLICK HERE to visit the Unit's website.
Colonial Triangle of Virginia Unit Scholarship
To further the scientific study and appreciation of herbs and to encourage the practice of environmentally sound horticulture, The Colonial Triangle of Virginia Unit offers a scholarship to a deserving student at Virginia Polytechnic University. This student must be a rising junior or senior majoring in a field of study analogous with our unit's goals, such as horticulture, biology, botany and environmental science. In addition, the student must have the following attributes: 1) a demonstrated interest in growing, using and sharing the knowledge of herbs; and 2) dedication to sound horticulture practices that will protect our global environment and enhance the health and well being of humans and plants.
The recipient is awarded a $1,000 tuition grant, plus a one-year student membership in The Herb Society of America.
Qualified Virginia Polytechnic University students may obtain information by contacting Mary Ann Kimminau, Scholarship Committee Chair, at kimminau@verizon.net
Nashville Unit Herb Society Community Outreach Grant
Application deadline February 1
The Herb Society of Nashville (HSN) is a non-profit, working organization dedicated to promoting the knowledge, use, and delight of herbs through educational programs, research, and sharing the experience of its members with the community.
HSN is seeking applicants who have programs in the Middle Tennessee area that align with the HSN mission. Grant applicants may include schools, communities, care facilities, not-for-profit organizations, and any other entity that supports. Prior applicants and recipients of HSN grants may apply for future award cycles.
For more information, visit the Unit's website.
Pennsylvania Heartland Unit Scholarship
The Pennsylvania Heartland Unit of The Herb Society of America, a group dedicated to studying and actively sharing horticulture history and exploring herb use, is pleased to offer an annual scholarship . These scholarships will be awarded to a student active within the field of horticulture or a related study. The scholarship will be awarded to a student living in the Heartland area, which includes: Berks, Montgomery, Chester, York, Schuylkill, Lancaster, Columbia, Lehigh and Lebanon counties. Applicants must be third or fourth year students in the study of horticulture or a related field.
For additional information contact:
Jeannette Lanshe e-mail: Jetlan1@aol.com
505 28th Street
Ocean City NJ 08226
For more information, please visit https://www.paheartlandhsa.org/scholarships
Philadelphia Unit Scholarship
The Philadelphia Unit of the Herb Society of America, a group “dedicated to promoting the knowledge, use and the delight of herbs through educational programs, research and sharing the experience of its members with the community,” is pleased to offer a $1,000.00 Scholarship to a student pursuing a certificate or degree in the study of horticulture or a related field.
The criteria for the scholarship are as follows:
- Home residence must be in Bucks, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, or Delaware counties.
- Student pursuing a degree in Horticulture, Botany, Agricultural Sciences, or Agronomy.
- Two references: one advisor or professor, and one person of student’s choice. It is the applicant’s responsibility to send references with the application.
- An official school transcript must be sent with the application.
- Essay: Why did you choose the field of horticulture (or related field) and what do you plan to do with your education in the future?
- Applicants may reapply the following year.
All applications must be received by June 30, 2022.
Application materials can be found on our Philadelphia Unit’s website: www.hsaphiladelphia.org.
Don't hesitate to contact us with any questions about our scholarship program.
Pioneer Unit Scholarship
The Pioneer Unit of the Herb Society of America would like to announce that we will be awarding $2000-$4000 Madalene Hill Scholarship(s) each year in the spring to a student studying Plant Science or Horticulture, or Environmental Sciences with a focus on Botany or Food Sciences or a closely related Discipline. Permanent residents of Texas attending an accredited community college, a four-year college or university in Texas are eligible to apply. Applicants must have completed one full year of college.
For additional information, please contact:
Scholarship Committee Chair
Pioneer Unit of Herb Society of America
P.O. Box 23
Round Top, Texas 78954
For details and application, please visit (https://www.herbsocietypioneer.org/) link to main menu for Scholarship for requirements and a link to the application.
Contact Barbara Solis with questions tomsolis@aol.com
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South Texas Unit Scholarship
The South Texas Unit of the Herb Society of America is pleased to announce that it will be awarding at least one $1,000 Herb Society of America, South Texas Unit, Madalene Hill Scholarship to a deserving student in the spring of each year. The scholarship will be awarded to students who are studying agronomy, horticulture, botany, or a closely-related discipline at an accredited four-year college or university. The student must be either a permanent resident of Texas or attending an accredited college or university in Texas. The student must have completed two full years of college and be entering the Junior or Senior year of studies.
For additional information, please contact:
Education Committee Chairman
South Texas Unit of The HSA
P.O. Box 6515
Houston, Texas 77265-6515
For details and application, visit the South Texas Unit website.
Horticulture/Botany Scholarship:
The Kathryn Giarratani Scholarship Fund of the Western Pennsylvania Unit of The Herb Society of America
The Kathryn Giarratani Fund of the Western PA unit of The Herb Society of America was created at The Pittsburgh Foundation to provide scholarships to college and graduate students following a career path in horticulture/botany or related field. A one-year $1,000 award will be granted to the recipient. The following criteria will apply:
- Preference will be given to students who are residents of Western Pennsylvania
- Student must be a full-time Junior or Senior in college pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree or a Post-Graduate degree in horticulture/botany or related field.
Student must be following a career path in these same areas. - Student must have a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.0/B
- Student must be enrolled in one of the following schools: Chatham University, Delaware Valley College, Keystone College, Pennsylvania State University, or Temple University-Ambler College.
- Student must write an essay (maximum three pages) that includes the following: a) applicant's general objectives and goals; b) where courses are to be taken during the scholarship year; c) proposed content of applicant's courses of study; d) explanation as to why the stated field of study is important to applicant.
Awardee is expected to report in person to the Western PA Unit at the end of the academic year in which the Scholarship is awarded. Presentation is to include knowledge acquired and experience gained. Awardee will be hosted by a member of the Unit.
Final selection of the scholarship winner will be decided (subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, of the Pittsburgh Foundation) by a Scholarship Fund Committee. No member of the Fund Committee, or his or her immediate family, is eligible for scholarship assistance during his or her tenure on the Fund Committee.
The Pittsburgh Foundation shall notify the chosen scholarship recipient(s) of the decision. The scholarship payment will be made after The Pittsburgh Foundation's June Board Meeting, and after the student verifies the school he or she will be attending. Payment will be made to the school for the student.
To apply, CLICK HERE to go to the Pittsburgh Foundation's website.
