ESA - SEEDS

SEEDS is seeking ESA members and Annual Meeting participants to serve as SEEDS Meeting Mentors for undergraduate students for the 2026 ESA Annual Meeting from July 26 – 30, 2026 in Salt Lake City, UT! This year, the SEEDS program will host 20 students from diverse backgrounds with a demonstrated commitment to the program’s mission. The mentoring program is integral in helping SEEDS nurture student interest in ecology, and ultimately to diversify and advance the science.

SEEDS Alumni/Faculty, researchers, education professionals, and more are encouraged to sign up! Learn more with the link in our bio. 🌿

**SEEDS CHAPTER GRANT DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST**

Please note that moving forward our SEEDS Grant Program will be moving to a one-time application for all projects being completed in the following academic year. For example, projects requested to be completed in the Fall 2026 or Spring 2027 semesters must be submitted by August 11, 2026.

Applications may be submitted earlier, and we will award on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted - we do not recommend waiting until the last minute to submit a project. Refer to our SEEDS Chapter Project Grant Proposal Guidelines on how to submit a successful application. Read our earlier post for more information about the program.

Don't forget that Part 2 of Chapter Reports are due by May 31st! Please have one of your Chapter Leaders submit ONE report for your chapter. It is critical that your chapters complete Chapter Reports to remain "Active In Good Standing" with us! To be considered Active In Good Standing*, learn more with the link in bio.

*Members of chapters that are “Active In Good Standing” will receive additional bonus points in competitive applications for SEEDS opportunities including the SEEDS Travel Awards to the ESA Annual Meetings, SEEDS National Fieldtrips, invited to nominate a student for the annual Leadership Meeting, and apply for our grant program.

🌱️ Apply for the Kendra Chan Fellowship with US Fish & Wildlife Service in Ventura, CA! 🌴️ As an undergrad, you'll get a unique research experience, mentorship, and present at the 2027 ESA Annual Meeting. Must be a US citizen, have a valid driver's license, and be a CA SEEDS Chapter member graduating May 2027 or later. Award includes 12-week summer research, housing, travel, and stipend. Apply now (link in bio)! 💼️

🎉 We are thrilled to announce that the University of California, Santa Cruz SEEDS Chapter () is the 2026 SEEDS National BioBlitz Competition Winner with the most observations! 🏆🌿🐦🐞 We also want to highlight the two runner ups following very closely behind: Evergreen State College and UC Santa Barbara ()!

A huge round of applause to ALL 31 SEEDS Chapters that participated in this year’s event. 👏👏👏 Your contributions have made this BioBlitz a massive success with over 26,000 observations and 500+ observers during the month of April! Your observations are valuable contributions to science! 🧬🔬 🌎

Join the SEEDS Program at another amazing Field Trip to the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke, Virginia! The station sits on a remote wooded ridge on the divide between the Atlantic and Mississippi drainage basins in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. The variety of rich and diverse habitats near MLBS provide excellent opportunities for studies in terrestrial and aquatic field biology. Apply by June 9th for this August trip. Eligibility, requirements, and application link in our bio.

Our application is now open for our Chapter Grant Program, and we increased the requested amount for individual chapters to $1,500! SEEDS Chapters are able to request support on projects such as career/student development, community outreach activities and volunteerism, conduct and communicate ecology research, and more!

Please note that our SEEDS Grant Program will be moving to a one-time application for ALL projects being completed in the following academic year. For example, projects requested to be completed in the Fall 2026 and/or Spring 2027 semesters must be submitted by May 15th. Link in bio for more information.

On Friday, March 27th we welcomed six students from local SEEDS Chapter at Stevenson University to participate on a special tour of the Smithsonian Museum Support Center, which holds 54 million collection items for their museums. Students engaged with staff to visit and learn about the collection's biorepository fish and mammal - including the whale house! Thank you to the amazing staff that help made this happen.

The following day during the 2026 ESA Mid-Atlantic Meeting, SEEDS Chapter Leaders at Stevenson University and Elizabethtown College gave a presentation on
"Students Leading Ecology on Campus". In this workshop, student leaders shared how they engage their peers in hands‑on ecology, build inclusive environmental communities, and creating impactful campus initiatives.

And just like that, it's the start of our National Bioblitz Competition! This year’s NEW rule will allow SEEDS Chapters flexibility to choose their own date (24-hour window) in the month of April to conduct a local community event during the competition. We are welcoming 31 chapters in this year - making it the BIGGEST competition ever for us!

SEEDS Chapters will have chance to compete against other chapters for the title of 2026 BioBlitz Champion - and win a prize! Best of luck to all the chapters this year 🐌🌳🦋🌿🍄🌻

On Wednesday, March 25th at 6:30pm ET, we will host the final SEEDS Community Call of the semester. This call will walk through our Chapter Grant program and highlight successful application projects and tips, as well as share the change for one application for all 2026-2027 activities - the new grant cycle will be opening soon. We hope you can join us! Registration link in bio. 🌿