Go Scholars!!
Robin Schachat
The 2022-2023 GCA Scholarship winners will not be announced for another few weeks, when their contracts have all been signed and confirmed. But I have it on good authority that once again Zone X has performed brilliantly!
As always, we will enjoy a marvelous cluster of winners of the Katharine M. Grosscup Scholarship, the first scholarship ever given by GCA members, named after an honored member of our own Club. Our Leslie Marting tends this group of Scholarships at the national level, and we admire her work: Many Thanks, Leslie!
In addition to Grosscup winners, Zone X has more coming. A little birdie told me of one scholar whose application we helped along will be joining him and his colleagues this summer; I look forward to hearing more from other birdies.
Meanwhile our Zone Scholarship Chair, Amy McDonnell (Indianapolis GC) has written to let us know about a couple of recent accomplishments that you all might find amusing! Here, in her words, are those stories:
National Scholar News
Enjoy learning about two former Scholarship recipients and their current important work. Who knew we would send folks to the movies????? Thanks to Sid Hancock, Vice Chair of Publications for the GCA Scholarship Committee for this information.
Felipe Zapata
The Garden Club of America 2007 Fellow in Tropical Botany Felipe Zapata grew up in Colombia. His home country’s biodiversity captivated him. Fascinated with the Andes Mountains, valleys, cloud forests, tropical plants with flowers of many colors, vibrant birds, and the iconic wax palm — the country’s national tree and the tallest palm tree in the world — Zapata was inspired to become a botanist.
Fast forward 15 years. Zapata is now an Assistant Professor at UCLA in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; principal investigator of The Zapata Lab whose focus is on the evolution of flowering plants; and researcher who concentrates on understanding how biodiversity originates and evolves.
And now, Zapata can add Walt Disney Animation Studios to his already impressive resume. The former GCA Fellow is listed among the credits of the three-time Oscar nominated film, “Encanto.” When Walt Disney Animation Studios began plans for an animated feature set in the mountains of Colombia, Zapata was tapped to serve as the film’s botanical advisor. The film, whose star power includes Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz, and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, tells the story of a family who lives hidden in the mountains. Zapata’s expertise — both his research and personal experiences — provided much of the framework from which the Disney production team created the ecosystems in the film. Congratulations to Dr. Zapata on his many successes. GCA is proud to have played a part along the way.
Kristen Lear
2018 GCA Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellow Kristen Lear, PhD, explains the need for nectar corridors for Mexican long-nosed bats. Read her article in Current Conservation: “Agaves Give Us Life.”
Dr. Lear is a Bat Conservationist and Agave Restoration Initiative Lead at Bat Conservation International.
Read the article here: https://www.currentconservation.org/agaves-give-us-life-restoring-agaves-for-bats-and-people/