Natural & Applied Sciences Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grants
Are you looking for independent research experience to help you gain experience and learn new skills? A Natural and applied Science (NAS) Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grant can provide you with valuable research experience, a chance to work independently on a project you developed and a standout item for your resume! This grant program is meant to support student-led research; student projects may or may not be part of a student's master's thesis.
The goal of the NAS Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grants are to provide funding to best support student research projects; we encourage you to value your time, consider other funding sources and plan thoughtfully with your advisor(s).
Spring Deadline
March 25: Research Grant Proposals Due
This is a call for NAS Heirloom Plant Student Fund Research Grants proposals. The Spring deadline for proposals is March 25, 2025. Proposals must follow the outline below and be submitted in Word or PDF to Keir Wefferling at wefferlingk@uwgb.edu.
Why do an NAS Heirloom Plant Fund Project?
Some of the many reasons to do an NAS Heirloom Plant Fund Project include:
- You get to choose something you are really interested in.
- Learning something is best accomplished by doing it.
- You want to go to graduate or professional school and would like to demonstrate your research skills.
- It is a great way to try out a potential career field.
Most importantly, you are making a contribution to your field of interest. Some students publish their results in national and regional journals. An NAS Heirloom Plant Fund Project will provide you with laboratory or field experience you can use in your future career. Many past participants have commented that their NAS Heirloom Plant Fund Project experience helped them decide what field they wanted to go into and was an important piece in their resumes. Contact a faculty member in your area of interest with ideas.
Eligibility
Graduate students must be an enrolled at UW-Green Bay with a declared major in Environmental Science and Policy or Biodiversity Conservation and Management (BCM) and with an NAS committee member or BCM course instructor as a sponsor in order to apply. Undergraduate students must be enrolled at UW-Green Bay with a declared major in one of the following: biology, environmental science, geoscience, water science or chemistry, and with an NAS committee member as a sponsor.
Funds Available
The following funds are available through the Natural and Applied Sciences Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grants:
- Up to $1,000 for undergraduate research projects with a lifetime max of $2,000
- Up to $2,000 for graduate research projects with a lifetime max of $4,000 are available to students to conduct independent research projects
- Any supplies and equipment will be purchased directly by NAS and become UW-Green Bay property administered by the faculty research advisor
- Stipend requests (note: these are considered taxable income):
- To be paid at $15/hour for undergraduate students
- To be paid at $16/hour for graduate students
- Expenses for past research are NOT eligible for these funds
Funds are limited, and graduate student projects will be prioritized. While we encourage all to apply, NAS undergraduate students with an interest in the life or environmental sciences should also seek other sources of funding, such as Scholarships or Cofrin Center for Biodiversity Student Research Grants.
How to Apply
To apply, you must submit a grant proposal of no more than three pages of narrative and one page of budget. Proposals must be submitted by the deadline of March 25, 2025, and as electronic Word or PDF documents containing the information listed below and submitted by email to Dr. Keir Wefferling at wefferlk@uwgb.edu. The proposal must include the following information:
- Title
- Introduction, including a brief literature review
- Objectives of the study
- Proposed methods: The methods section must explain clearly the sampling procedure, expected data analysis, location of study, as well as project schedule and duration. Include how many hours you expect to spend doing field or lab work.
- Anticipated outcomes of the work
- Proposed timetable
- Proposed budget (Be specific about prices for equipment and supplies and travel costs.) Contact Keir Wefferling (wefferlk@uwgb.edu) with questions about budget eligibility. Eligible costs include, but are not limited to:
- travel for outdoor and/or laboratory research (fuel and vehicle rental, lodging, per diem)
- funds to present research findings at a conference or for training (including travel, lodging when traveling further than 2 hours from UW-Green Bay, registration costs
- per diems may be eligible and will be considered; see https://www.wisconsin.edu/travel/policies/meal-and-incidental-per-diem-allowances/ and https://www.wisconsin.edu/uw-policies/sys-425-attachment-a-reimbursement-rates/)
- equipment and reference books (e.g., with taxonomic descriptions and dichotomous keys)
- Justification of budget: This can be presented as part of a budget table, and should thoughtfully explain why each cost is necessary
- Statement of need: What other funds might be available to support this project? For example, does the advisor have grant funding that could support this work? Are there other funding sources pending? Will the project be impossible or scaled back without this funding?
- Literature cited
Funding Committee
A committee of Natural and Applied Science faculty make all decisions regarding funding of research grants. The current NAS Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grant Committee includes:
- Dr. Keir Wefferling (chair)
- Dr. Michael Draney
- Dr. Shawn Malone
- Dr. Karen Stahlheber
- Dr. Amy Wolf
Fund Recipient Expectations
The Natural and Applied Sciences Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grant is named for the Heirloom Plant Sale that is run each spring in order to raise funds to support research for students with majors in Environmental Science and Policy. Students and faculty requesting funds are encouraged to help with this important fundraiser.
Students with funded projects will be asked to acknowledge Heirloom Grant Funding in reports/papers and presentations resulting from this work and submit a report with photos summarizing research activities within one year of their award. An important aspect of this grant program is sharing with the UW-Green Bay and broader community the awesome work being done by our students. We ask that you submit a short (~one-page) report (timing to be clarified in grant award letters) with photos that we can share through the NAS Heirloom Plant Sale website. To recognize this funding source, please acknowledge "Natural and Applied Sciences Heirloom Plant Fund Student Research Grant" in an acknowledgement slide of a presentation or acknowledgement section of a report or manuscript.
For more information about the plant sale, see the plant sale website or contact Dr. Karen Stahlheber at stahlhek@uwgb.edu.
Questions about Grants?
If you have any questions about submitting a proposal, please reach out to Keir Wefferling. He is happy to help!