Grants and Scholarships
Grants
In 2005 the Portsmouth Garden Club established a Grant Fund to distribute funds for community projects that reflect our mission as a club.
In addition, an endowment fund, in memory of former Club President Ruth Nelson, was established in 1988 providing yearly financial support for the Thomas Bailey Aldrich House Gardens at Strawberry Banke.
Grants are specifically for Seacoast gardens, schools, and conservation projects. Grant awards will be considered for the creation or maintenance of historic gardens, local conservation projects, gardens in public places, and school gardens and projects.
Thanks to all our 2024 Grant recipients for working to make our community a better place
Seacoast Science Center – new plants, compost, mulch and garden tools
Little Harbor Elementary School – transforming the memorial garden in honor of the former third-grade student Lydia Valdez into Lydia’s Pollinator Garden.
Wentworth Gardener Historic House Association – creating a small herb garden and a trellis with perennials such as clematis and roses
Friends of Bicentennial Park – to replace many plants and shrubs that were damaged in the January storms
Portsmouth Senior Activity Center – to enhance the existing raised beds with new soil, annuals, and perennials
South Mill Pond Bridge – annual flower box plantings on the Harold Whitney Whitehouse bridge
Star Island Corporation – rehabilitating the gardens in front of the stone cottage Parsonage with perennials, annuals, climbing roses, and milkweed
Seven Rivers – medicinal perennial plants and hazelnuts to expand their permaculture garden into a new location
Mary C Dondero School- galvanized steel garden beds to replace their existing beds which are rotting
Applications for 2025 Grants open in January.
Scholarships
The Portsmouth Garden Club established a Scholarship Fund with funds from the Festival of Trees, which was co-sponsored by the Portsmouth Garden Club and the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, Division of Forests and Lands - Urban Forestry Center and which was supported by the public’s generosity. Scholarships are awarded to college students from this annual fund, supplemented with additional funds from the club's fund-raising activities.
Applicants must be full time New Hampshire college or university students pursuing a degree in Natural Resources, Forestry, Plant Biology, Sustainability or a related environmental major. Students currently attending a two or four year college or university are encouraged to apply. Applicants must have completed at least one semester and have a minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average.
The scholarship committee also considers work experience, community involvement and other activities that support career goals. Preference will be given to students who reside and intend to work in the Seacoast area.
2024 Scholarships are awarded in June. Applications for 2025 Scholarships open in January.
Congratulations to all our scholarship recipients and thank you for your plans to make a safer and more sustainable world.
