Attention: Graduate Students
The Friends of Gumbo Limbo
2016 Gordon J. Gilbert Graduate $2,500 Scholarships
History
Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex first opened to the public in 1984 as a nature preserve set amid one of the few surviving coastal hammocks in South Florida. Our Mission is to increase public awareness of coastal and marine ecosystems through research, education, preservation and conservation.
Through the efforts of local residents, the city of Boca Raton purchased this wooded area that spans the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic dunes. Part of the land was set aside for environmental education and it is this portion that became Gumbo Limbo. The director of Gumbo Limbo was Gordon Gilbert, a former science teacher at Boca High School and one of those foresighted persons who worked to make this land preservation a reality.
Scholarship Information
Friends of Gumbo Limbo has established a graduate level $2500 scholarship named to honor Gordon Gilbert. This scholarship application is open to a graduate student attending any Florida College or University with an accredited Masters or PhD program whose current or proposed original research is relevant to the mission of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
Selection of recipients will be made by the Scholarship Committee of Friends of Gumbo Limbo. All applicants who meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply. Consideration will be given to applicants who have been or currently are volunteers in good standing at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. However, the selection committee will evaluate the credentials of each applicant in making the award decisions.
Winner Notification
Winners will be notified by a committee member following the interview and final selection. The scholarship awards will be sent to the university where the student is enrolled and credited to the student’s account.
Student Eligibility Requirements
1. Candidate must have proposed or be engaged in a marine-related research project approved by the student’s major professor and is relevant to the mission of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.
2. Candidates may self-nominate, or be nominated by a professor, but MUST submit a letter of recommendation by the student’s major professor or department chair.
3. A minimum 3.0 GPA is required. Candidates will be evaluated on a written summary of the student’s original research and an interview with the scholarship committee, which will include a presentation of the student’s research. The interview and presentation will be conducted during late March or April, 2016.
4. Additionally, the scholarship recipient must agree to conduct a public presentation at the nature center related to the student’s research and provide the nature center with a copy of the student’s published thesis or dissertation when it is available.
5. All application materials are to be submitted by the application deadline, February 12, 2016.
Contact Information
Please call Brandon, Scholarship Coordinator (561. 544-8608), or email if you have any questions.