Posted: May 6, 2024

The Keystone Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society and the PA SCS and NRCS Retirees are offering two cash awards to students majoring in the environmental sciences.

The Keystone Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is offering two $500 cash award scholarships to college undergraduate students in the fields of agriculture, environmental studies, soils, or natural resources, who are currently attending college in Pennsylvania. Applicants should have junior, senior or recent BS graduate status. Applications must be postmarked or emailed by May 31, 2024.

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of a combination of academic merit and program of study, quality of the student's essay, financial need, and educational and career goals that are consistent with the SWCS mission. The SWCS strives to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation. Our work targets conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources on working land-land with is used to produce food and fiber. SWCS also promotes other services that improve the quality of life that people experience in rural and urban communities. We work to discover, develop, implement, and improve ways to use land that sustains its productive capacity and enhances the environment. The cash award scholarships will be awarded in August of 2024. Successful applicants will be notified by phone soon after the committee has arrived at a decision. We request that winners of previous years do not apply a second time, although previous applicants may apply a second time.

An application for 2024 can be found at: www.keystoneswcs.org

One of this year's scholarships was once again made possible by a generous donation from the PA chapter of the Association of Retired Conservation Service Employees (ARSCE).

For additional information, please contact Mary L Smith at soillady0504@gmail.com, or voicemail at 717-994-1941.