Sam Fraser-Smith, age 29, is off to Australia early in the New Year to study for a masters degree in plant protection at the University of Queensland in Brisbane and is a recipient of a Garden Club of Bermuda scholarship award.

Currently working as a lab assistant in the main office of the Department of Environmental Protection at the Botanical Gardens, Sam studied at Dalhousie in Nova Scotia, Canada, for a degree in general biology.

His first job after graduating was with the Bermuda Police Service but he has now decided to follow his great interest in horticulture and conservation and hopes his masters studies will lead on to a doctorate and an eventual return to the island.

He says the Garden Club award "made the difference as to whether I could or could not afford to go away to study".

Seven other people were recipients of the Garden Club of Bermuda's 2007-2008 scholarships. They included Keidoe Arorash, who is studying at the University of Waikato, New Zealand for a B.Sc. in conservation and resource management; David Chapman, Royal Holloway University of London for an M.Sc. in environmental assessment and analysis; Vanessa James, University of East Anglia, B.Sc. in environmental science; Tristan Locher, University of British Columbia, landscape architecture and Susanna Merlo, University of Toronto, environmental studies.

Michael Lindo, Lake City Community College, Florida, who hopes to study golf course management and Zoey Roberts, University of Kent, Durrell Institute of Conservation Ecology, who plans an M.Sc. in conservation biology were awarded scholarships but have deferred their studies for the time being.

A grand total of $41,000 was awarded to eight people. It has been the Garden Club's policy to give several bursaries rather than one major scholarship. Awards are not limited to university entrants and are available for mature students.

Awarded annually since 1957, the scholarships are funded by The Garden Club of Bermuda, the Dorothy and Bayfield Clark and Freer Cox Memorial Funds. They are given to students seeking financial assistance to study horticulture, landscaping, the environment, floriculture or related subjects which will subsequently benefit Bermuda.

During the past 50 years that the Garden Club has been providing scholarships, recipients have returned to use their talents for the benefit of Bermuda.

They include Government's conservation officer Jeremy Madeiros, former director of Agriculture Ed Manuel, curator of the Botanical Gardens Neville Richardson, education officer in the Botanical Gardens Steve Burgess, assistant park planner Jameka Kelly, senior plant protection officer in the Department of Environmental Protection Terri Lyn Thompson, plant protection officer Claire Jessey and farmer Tom Wadson.

The Garden Club of Bermuda was formed in 1921 and now has more than 300 members. It has produced several books on gardening, the latest Bermuda: A Gardener's Guide being published in 2002. Open Houses & Gardens, which is held on three or four Wednesday afternoons in May, is its major fund raising activity.

To apply for a scholarship please see our web site: www.gardenclubbermuda.org or contact:

Mrs. Janet Owner,

Scholarship Chairman

The Garden Club of Bermuda

P.O. Box HM 1141

Hamilton HM EX

telephone 293-2128

e-mail jlowner[AT]logic.bm

Diana Chudleigh is a keen gardener and a member of the Garden Club of Bermuda.