JACKSONVILLE – Timucuan Parks Foundation and the National Park Service’s Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve will offer student research grants to college students.

The $500 grants will be awarded to undergraduate and graduate students involved in a research project within or about the Timucuan Preserve. The grant program is open to all degree-seeking students in any academic field currently enrolled in an institute of higher education. Students have until May 19 to submit a research proposal that can be completed independently or with a team.

Students must choose a faculty mentor to work with and submit a research proposal to answer a question relevant to the Timucuan Preserve. The project must be completed within eight months, including all research, analysis and reporting, and be done in collaboration with National Park Service professionals and staff. The submission must include a letter from a faculty member, along with the student’s resume/CV and the faculty member’s resume/CV.

Submissions should be emailed to Anne Lewellen, Timucuan Preserve, at anne_lewellen@nps.gov. The grant will support student stipends, travel, and/or project costs.

Students will be notified in late May if they are selected. Timucuan Parks Foundation will distribute the funds in June. The research will be conducted in the summer and fall months, and the findings must be presented at the Timucuan Science and History Symposium in January of 2024.

The student research grant program is funded through sponsorships for the Symposium. It was designed to introduce students to field research and attract them and retain their interest in ecological science, preservation, archaeology and the history of the Timucuan Preserve. The program allows students to share research results with an audience of research professionals and creates partnerships between university faculty, students and NPS. It also gives NPS a better understanding of the resources within the Timucuan Preserve.

More information, including a complete program overview and ideas for research topics, can be found at www.timucuanparks.org/symposium/ or www.nps.gov/timu/planyourvisit/research.htm.