Award News
Mary A. Bancroft Memorial Scholarship Recipient
In April, the Kansas Native Plant Society Mary
Bancroft Scholarship Committee named Ms. Cathy Collins to receive the
$500 award for 2005.
Cathy is currently in her second year of a Ph.D. Program in the
Department
of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. She
will
use the scholarship to help fund her restoration study that focuses on
plant-fungal mutualism of native tallgrass prairie plants.
Cathy grew up in Ft. Collins, Colorado, in a family that spent a lot of time in the natural world hiking and camping. She knew from the time she was in junior high school that she wanted to study ecology. Her high school experiences at Gateway High School in Aurora, Colorado, guided by excellent biology teachers, a research study on dolphins, and a summer internship with the Student Conservation Association further reinforced her career choice. She continued her education at Pitzer College (of the Claremont Colleges) in Claremont, California, followed by a Master's program at the University of Arizona.
It was while she was at U. of A., that Cathy developed her interest in species diversity (at that time the patterns of mammals and birds). In an interview, Cathy expanded on how after moving to Kansas two years ago and working with Dr. Bryan Foster, she became interested in her present native plant study. "When I began learning about prairie plants, I was fascinated to learn that plant-fungal mutualisms help drive the patterns of plant diversity. Most plants form symbiotic relationships with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). However in Kansas tallgrass prairies, this mutualism is of particular importance because the presence of AMF plays a key role in determining whether warm-season or cool-season grasses dominate a prairie site. Consequently, the presence of AMF significantly alters plant community composition and diversity."
When she finishes her degree at K.U., MS Collins would like to become a professor at a small college where she could combine her passions of teaching and research. Because of the implications of her research for grasslands restorations, a long-term process, she expects to continue working at her sites in Kansas "long after graduate school is over."
Cathy explained why this area of study is important to her. "One of my goals is to conduct ecological research that has conservation value. Native prairies are scarce, and the more we know about how prairie communities function, the better chance we have at managing remaining native prairies and restoring degraded ones." This is certainly a perspective in harmony with those of the Kansas Native Plant Society.
Award story written by Nancy Goulden
Excellence in Botany in Kansas Award Recipient
Congratulations to Harold Kline for earning the Excellence in Botany
Award. This award is given to an individual for a significant
contribution to botany in Kansas. Harold was honored for his commitment
to education through the annual Barber County Wildflower Tour, which he
has conducted for many years.
Rachel Snyder Memorial Landscape Award Recipient
The Rachel Snyder Memorial Award is given to an
individual or group for a project promoting the use of native plants in
the landscape. This year's award went to the Solid Waste North Annex
Facility in Lawrence. Their horticultural plantings of native
wildflowers reduced water usage at the plant, beautified the facility
and continues to teach others about the value of our Kansas native
plants. The award was accepted by Kathy Richardson for the facility
staff.
