The Gaylord Atkinson Memorial Scholarship
GHF Scholarships provide funds for prairie-related research to students attending a Kansas college or university. We are pleased to announce that the 2026 scholarship application is now open. See below for further instructions and a link to the application. Scholarship deadline is February 28th, 2026.
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In Memory of Gaylord Atkinson
Gaylord was a former board member and Groundhog volunteer at the Prairie Center during the 1990’s. Gaylord was particularly active at the small office prairie in Roeland Park, fighting Japanese honeysuckle and hand building a boundary fence with his grandfather’s tools. After he moved to Texas, he continued to support GHF and shared stories of his time with us. His good friend, Jay Chatham is honoring Gaylord with this memorial.
​About the Scholarship
Gaylord Atkinson Memorial Scholarships of up to $1000 are awarded annually to students conducting prairie-related research at a Kansas college or university. Preference will be given to graduate students at Kansas universities. 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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Scholarship Application
We are accepting applications for the 2026 scholarship until February 28th. Questions? Email 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 GHF Scholarship Recipients
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2025: Logan Anderson (Kansas State University)
There’s no place like a home range: factors affecting Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) home range sizes
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2025: Alec Glidden (Kansas State University)
Cumulative effects of seasonal fire on soil fertility and storage of organic C and N
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2025: Helen Winters (Kansas State University)
Reciprocal garden study of climate adaptation in a dominant native prairie grass: Identifying climate-matched populations for conservation and restoration
2025: Yufan Zhou, (University of Kansas)
Plant-soil feedback and competition between annual and perennial species link to prairie species succession
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2025: Izuchukwu O. Okafor (Kansas State University)
Developing grassland fire danger index to enhance prescribed burning for prairie conservation in the Flint Hills
2025: Klara Stevermer (Kansas State University)
Physiological responses to elevated atmospheric drought in three biochemical subtypes of warm season C4 grasses
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2024: August Brunette (Kansas State University)
Prairie bee community composition along a precipitation gradient in Kansas
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2024: Emma Greenlee (Kansas State University)
The effects of grazing management on plant-pollinator networks and bee nesting habitat
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2024: Heather Poyner (Kansas State University)
Understanding the interactive effects of Conservation Reserve Program pollinator plantings and beekeeping on native plant-pollinator interactions
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2024: Aleah Querns (Kansas State University)
The relative effects of fire, grazing, and climate on eastern redcedar woody encroachment
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2024: Dorothea Summers (University of Kansas)
Assessing Phenotypic Variation in Dominant Prairie Grass Species between Remnant and Restored Populations for Ecosystem Restoration
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2024: Jack Sytsma (Kansas State University)
Intraspecific variation and genetic diversity of the dominant prairie grass: Identifying populations for climate change mitigation
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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​