The Richard Duenckel Garden Club Scholarship from the Toluca Lake Garden Club provides up to $1,500 for undergraduate and graduate students studying the biology of plants, especially with connections to horticulture.
Toluca Lake, located in the San Fernando Valley, is known for its natural beauty. In 1947, a few of the area’s green-thumbed homeowners joined together in the Toluca Lake Garden Club to sustain and promote the neighborhood’s signature landscapes. Its mission is to encourage interest in civic improvement, develop better horticultural practices, promote conservation of natural resources, and inspire all phases of California native home gardening. The scholarship has been awarded annually since 2010, and in 2016 it was renamed to honor Richard Duenckel, the club’s longtime treasurer.
Applications require a 1-2 page autobiographical statement explaining the applicant’s interests in plant biology, and current unofficial transcripts. Applicants should also arrange for an employer, professor, or other mentor to provide a letter of recommendation — this person will submit the letter separately. Full instructions and the application form are available on the myMatador Scholarships platform. Applications and letters must be submitted by midnight on December 27 for full consideration.
Scholarship recipients will also be expected to write thank-you notes to the Toluca Lake Garden Club, and to make a presentation about their studies at a club meeting.
Image: A domestic rose (Flickr: Jeremy Yoder)