Bristol Garden Club Awards $2,000 Green Career Scholarship

A local garden club is putting its money where its mission is, offering $2,000 to help students launch careers in environmental fields.

The Bristol Garden Club announced its 2026 Carol Roys Bristol Garden Club Scholarship, open to high school students from Bristol, Burlington, Harwinton, Plainville, Plymouth, and Wolcott. Applications are due by March 31.

The scholarship supports students pursuing degrees in fields like environmental studies, conservation, horticulture, landscape architecture, forestry, and urban planning. Students interested in agriculture, botany, or meteorology can also apply.

Susan Eisenhandler, chair of the club's Scholarship Committee, said guidance counselors at eligible high schools have already received application forms. "The club has awarded scholarships for many years, hoping to support plants and people," she explained.

Founded in 1964, the Bristol Garden Club has spent six decades working to beautify their community and protect local ecosystems. The group focuses on enhancing public spaces, conserving native plants and wildlife, and teaching people about the benefits of gardening.

The Ripple Effect

This scholarship does more than help one student afford college. It invests in professionals who will spend their careers protecting the environment, designing sustainable cities, and studying climate patterns. Every landscape architect who creates green spaces and every conservationist who protects wildlife habitats started somewhere. For one student this spring, this $2,000 could be that starting point.

The club meets monthly at Bristol Public Library, bringing together people who believe in the power of nature to improve lives. Their scholarship reflects that same philosophy: grow people, grow the future.

One deserving student will receive $2,000 this year to turn their passion for the planet into a career.