Teen Wins Scholarship to Honor Camper Who Loved Nature

Grover Bennett Villari is heading back to Camp Rushford this summer without paying a dime, thanks to an essay about how nature changed their life.

The rising teen won the Emily Timbrook Memorial Scholarship, created by parents who wanted to honor their daughter's love of the environment after she died in a car crash in 2009. Emily attended Camp Rushford as a kid and later returned as a volunteer, always sharing her excitement about protecting nature with everyone she met.

Barbara and Tim Timbrook partnered with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Natural Heritage Trust to create the scholarship. Each year, it covers the full cost for one returning camper to attend the week-long environmental camp in Allegany County.

Grover first discovered Camp Rushford last summer after hearing about it from their older sister Clementine, who started attending in 2023. The week included trips to the Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area, lessons about local ecosystems, campfire songs, and making friends who shared their curiosity about the natural world.

Camp staff invited standout campers to submit essays about their experiences and how camp shaped their view of nature. Grover's essay stood out for showing genuine excitement about outdoor recreation and a desire to share conservation knowledge with others.

"Our daughter's love of nature and commitment to environmental stewardship was nurtured at a DEC camp," the Timbrooks said. "We are so happy to remember Emily in this way."

The Ripple Effect

The scholarship does more than send one kid to camp each year. It creates a chain reaction of environmental stewardship that Emily would have loved.

Camp Rushford serves kids ages 11 to 17 across New York, teaching conservation education through hands-on experiences. The state runs four similar residential camps where young people learn to appreciate and protect natural resources.

Former campers often return as counselors, just like Emily did. They teach the next generation about wetlands, wildlife, and why protecting these places matters for everyone's future.

Anyone can donate to the Emily Timbrook fund or support other camp scholarships through the Natural Heritage Trust. Checks made out to "NHT-DEC Camps" with "Emily" in the memo line help more kids experience the transformative power of nature.

Grover turns 13 in April and will return to camp with new knowledge to share and a scholarship that proves one person's passion can inspire countless others.