The Rachel Snyder Memorial Scholarship
Rachel Snyder Memorial Scholarships of up to $1,000 are awarded in early 2023 to students for research on prairie ecology, conservation, and/or Monarch butterflies and other pollinators native to Kansas. Preference will be given to graduate students at Kansas universities.
About the Scholarship
The Rachel Snyder Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to graduate and undergraduate students attending a Kansas college or university by Grassland Heritage Foundation. The scholarship began in 2000 with funds donated in memory of Rachel Snyder. It was originally given to high school students planning to study biology or journalism at a state college. It then evolved into a scholarship awarded to graduate students studying prairie-related topics. The scholarship fund has been sustained through donations from Susan Lordi Marker and other dedicated member donations. GHF requests that recipients of the scholarship share the results of their research through GHF newsletter articles and/or public presentations.
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About Rachel Snyder
Rachel was dedicated to prairie land preservation. In 1974 she purchased a farm near Mayetta, Kansas that contained a native prairie. She wished for her farm to be forever conserved, and she deeded it to GHF in 1984. When GHF took ownership, her farm became known as Snyder Prairie. Rachel was a journalist and she was, for many years, the editor of Flower and Garden Magazine in Kansas City. She authored two books on gardening, The Complete Book for Gardeners in 1964 and Gardening in the Heartland in 1992.
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Scholarship Application
GHF is currently accepting proposals through February 28, 2023. GHF will award scholarship funds in March 2023. Download the scholarship application below. Please submit questions or completed applications to info@grasslandheritage.org.
Support the Scholarship
To continue to award the scholarship, financial support is necessary. You can support the scholarship by designating your GHF membership dues or making a separate donation to the scholarship fund. Click here to make a donation today!
Past Recipients
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2023: August Brunette (Kansas State University)
Prairie bee community composition along a precipitation gradient in Kansas​
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2023: Tucker Eckols (Emporia State University)
Understanding the dynamic relationship between tree stands and woody encroachment in the tallgrass prairie
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2023: Max Proctor (Wichita State University)
What goes in must come out: Comparison of nutrients in bison and cattle dung and effects on development of dung beetles
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2022: Emily Wedel (Kansas State University)
The effects of patch-burn grazing on fire intensity and woody cover in tallgrass prairie
2022: Ashley Wojciechowski (Kansas University)
The effects of imposed drought and nutrient availability on microbial biomass and soil enzyme activity in a restored grassland
2022: Nicholas Vega Anguiano (Kansas State University)
Does grazing by bison and cattle have a similar impact on tallgrass prairie N-cycling?
2022: Brandon Frant (Emporia State University)
Are Bison Wallows Important for Migratory Shorebirds?
2022: Samantha Skerlec (Wichita State University)
Legacy of past drying events on larval and juvenile anuran fitness
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2021: Caitlin Broderick (Kansas State University)
Drought sensitivity of soil microbial communities across restored tallgrass prairies
2021: Connor Champney (Fort Hays State University)
Using Grassland Birds as Indicator Species for Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Presence in Western Kansas
2021 Jeane Thompson (Emporia State University)
Do Behavioral Tendencies Represent Reproductive Tradeoffs in Female Dickcissels
2021: Krista Ward (Wichita State University)
Effects of Recolonization of Vertebrates on Intermittent Stream Pools After Drying in Prairie Ecosystems
2020: Bethany Roberton
Effects of seasonal burn treatments on native perennial plants and pollinator recruitment
2020: Haley Burrill
Using native pathogen buildup to inhibit invasive Lespedeza cuneate: a novel biocontrol approach
2020: Jacqueline Baum
Effects of white-tailed deer browsing in grasslands near agricultural and wooded edges within the Great Plains
2020: Jessica Butters
The effects of fire and grazing on ground nesting bees
2019: Naomi Betson
Effects of sampling date on observed biodiversity in an experimental tallgrass prairie restoration
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2019: Kent Connell
Maximizing the impact of prairie restoration on carbon sequestration within soil organic matter
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2019: Jaide Allenbrand
Investigating the effect of bison grazing on grassland soil fertility and microbial communities across the central Great Plains
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