The Botanical Society of America (BSA) and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) are pleased to invite applications for the annual Botanical Advocacy Leadership Award. This award organized by the Environmental and Public Policy Committees of BSA and ASPT aims to support local efforts that contribute to shaping public policy on issues relevant to plant sciences.
Examples of such efforts include:
Founding or expanding a native plant society or enhancing its activities
Hosting a lecture series on plant conservation issues.
Leading campaigns or holding events that spread awareness of plant-related public policy issues (e.g., conservation of native species, control of invasive species, land use management).
Organizing local plant conservation events, such as removal of invasive species, planting a native garden, or restoration of native communities.
Traveling to meet with local or state representatives to lobby for legislation or other initiatives that benefit plant conservation, plant science research and education, or collections.
The recipient of this award will receive $1000 to be used in the proposed project. They will be recognized at the annual Botany meeting during the awards ceremony. To apply, please send a one-page letter describing the proposed local efforts and their anticipated impact along with a basic one-page budget to show how the funds will used. All active members of BSA and ASPT are eligible to apply. Applications are due March 30th, 2018. Sent as a single .pdf (“YourName_BALAapp2018.pdf”) to Andrew Pais (alpais@ncsu.edu) with the subject line “2018 BALA application”. The selected applicant will be notified by April 16th, 2018.
Awardees will be required to submit a brief summary of their activities with an image to the Plant Science Bulletin (PSB) by January of the following year. This synopsis will appear in the March/April issue of the PSB and is intended to highlight the impact of the recipient’s efforts in shaping public policy and awareness of plant-related issues. Inquiries about the award may be directed to the chairs of the EPPC for both societies: BSA/ASPT EPPC Awards Chair – Andrew Pais (alpais@ncsu.edu), BSA – Kal Tuominen (kal.tuominen@metrostate.edu) and Krissa Skogen kskogen@chicagobotanic.org), or ASPT-Ingrid Jordon-Thaden (jordonthaden@wisc.edu).
See 2017 Award project information