Banner Year for GCA Scholarships
One hundred scholars awarded a record $459,000
Sid Hancock, Scholarship Chair

The Garden Club of America has awarded a record $459,000 for the 2024-2025 year to recognize the academic endeavors of 100 scholars—a banner year for the GCA’s Scholarship Committee. Undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate studies in areas including field botany and conservation horticulture will allow students to pursue their unique passions. This year, scholars’ field studies include coral reefs, industrial waterways, and the impact of US Army housing on the American landscape.

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The Garden Club of America’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Hartford, CT
576 leaders go Beyond the Green
Kathryn Pritchett, Communications Vice-Chair

The Garden Club of America’s 2024 Annual Meeting was held in Hartford, Connecticut April 26-28. 576 leaders gathered to share ideas, enjoy informative workshops, listen to inspirational speakers, tour local gardens, and enjoy a multi-faceted flower show that illustrated the conference title Beyond the Green.

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The GCA’s 2024 Founders Fund Winners Announced
$60,000 awarded to three organizations
Torrie Larson, Communications Committee

The Garden Club of America’s (GCA) Founders Fund was established in 1934 to provide financial support, through a competitive grant program, to projects proposed by GCA member clubs. The projects are designed to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment through educational programs and action in the fields of conservation and civic improvement. This year the $40,000 winning grant was awarded to Replanting Indigenous and Historic Northeastern Species to create an Edible Plant Learning Center at the Jay Estate in Rye, New York.

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GCA in the City, GCA’s Young Professionals Program, Debuts in DC
Inaugural event welcomes speakers from The Potomac Conservancy
Nancy Ladd, GCA in the City Committee

On an early spring evening, GCA in the City welcomed Hedrick Belin and Alexis Dickerson from The Potomac Conservancy to speak to a crowded room of young Washingtonians at the historic Cosmos Club. In a fun and fact-filled exchange, the duo briefed an engaged audience on the rewards and challenges of protecting their hometown river. One of the rewards? Mature dolphins now swim in the river – accompanied by pods of newborns destined to return in the following years!

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THE GCA AIMS TO ESTABLISH NATIVE PLANT MONTH IN ALL 50 STATES IN 2024
43 States plus the District of Columbia have so far designated April as Native Plant Month
Lydia Chambers, Vice Chair, Conservation and NAL

After successfully securing Native Plant Month proclamations, resolutions, or laws in 48 states and the District of Columbia in 2023, The Garden Club of America aims to secure all 50 states in the second year of the initiative. As of April 17, 43 states plus the District of Columbia have established a Native Plant Month, with more states reporting every day. The goal of Native Plant Month Initiative (NPMI) is to increase awareness of the critical role native plants play in supporting a healthy environment, helping wildlife and pollinator populations thrive, reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, cleaning air and water, and so much more. As such, this initiative is a cross-discipline collaboration between the Horticulture, Conservation, and National Affairs and Legislation committees of the GCA plus key partners in states without GCA member clubs.

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Five Common Ground Collaborative Grants Announced for 2024
Projects in Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania awarded $10,000 grants
Torrie Larson, 1st Vice Chair, Communications

Five projects that emphasize food supply and environmental infrastructure ranging from cemeteries to blighted urban landscapes were awarded The Garden Club of America’s 2024 Common Ground Collaborative grants. Local garden clubs in collaboration with community groups plan to use the $10,000 grants for supporting the planting and cultivation of trees, building greener cities in depressed areas, supporting green infrastructure in urban areas, and growing food for people who do not have access to or are unable to afford healthy, fresh produce.

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GCA’s 41st Annual NAL Conference – March 17-20, 2024
Events in Washington, D.C. and online spur advocacy
Kathryn Pritchett, Vice-Chair Communications and Christy Millet, Vice Chair NAL

The GCA’s National Affairs and Legislation (NAL) conference took place March 17-20 in Washington D.C. More than 280 delegates from GCA clubs around the country attended in person and 153 watched virtually while 228 people tuned in for the virtual Advocacy Day the week before. Over the past 41 years, the GCA has convened annually in our nation’s capital to advocate for a wide number of environmental legislative priorities with a shared goal of “working for a beautiful, healthy planet.”

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