CNGA 2026 Grassland Research Awards for Student Scholarship

Andres Aguilar is a first-year master’s student at California State University, Stanislaus, where his research focuses on improving detection methods for the California Tiger Salamander using predator gut DNA. His work takes place in California grassland ecosystems, particularly seasonal wetlands and stock ponds, and aims to develop non-invasive monitoring tools while providing insight into predator–prey interactions. Andres earned his Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Merced, where he developed a strong foundation in grassland and wetland ecology. During his time at the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve, he conducted species surveys, supported research projects, and led educational field experiences centered on California’s native grasslands. In addition to his research, Andres is passionate about mentorship and science communication. He has guided undergraduate students through immersive field programs and currently serves as a teaching fellow, helping non-majors build confidence in scientific thinking. Through his work, Andres hopes to contribute to the conservation and management of California’s grassland ecosystems while continuing to support the next generation of scientists.

I am a second-year PhD student at UC Davis working alongside Justin Valliere. My research interests include how California native plant communities respond to climate change, by using plant ecophysiology and functional traits to inform restoration efforts. Specifically, I’m interested in how different Stipa pulchra populations respond to heat and water stress during their early ontogeny. Then assess whether their responses correlate with traits related to survival. By linking stress responses to traits, my work aims to identify trait strategies that influence early survival and may inform seed provenancing strategies. In my free time, I am an avid cyclist, hiker, and vinyl records collector.

I'm a biologist with a Masters in Taxonomy, Biodiversity and Evolution. Prior to joining the Daru lab at Stanford, I worked for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where I controlled the quality of the digitised material in the herbarium collections. My other previous experience includes taxonomy, Neotropical plant biogeography, and combining phylogenetics with conservation. I aim to investigate different types of plant diversity and answer questions on what I'm most curious about: evolution, biogeography and overall plant biology.

Sean Dillon is a second-year undergraduate in the Rangeland Resource Science program at Cal Poly Humboldt. Advised by Dr. Justin Luong, he is currently investigating functional plant traits for the rare wet meadow flower Limnanthes bakeri (Baker’s Meadowfoam). Human land use and anthropogenic climate change may negatively affect wetland specialists like L. bakeri via altered water availability, and Sean hopes to contribute to the conservation and management of the species through the characterization of its functional traits in altered hydrological conditions.

Trinity Edwards is a third-year undergraduate student at Cal Poly Humboldt majoring in Rangeland Resource Science. She is passionate about land stewardship and reconnecting urban communities back to the land. As a McNair Scholar, she has refined her academic interests toward agroecology, reconciliation ecology, and ecological restoration. She plans to pursue a PhD in Ecology or Environmental Science and ultimately become a professor who builds collaborative relationships with local and Indigenous communities. She hopes to foster knowledge exchange across urban and rural landscapes and to mentor students in ways that empower them to follow their dreams.

Dabid Garcia is an M.S. candidate in Natural Resources at Cal Poly Humboldt. His research examines how vegetation, soils, and climate influence soil organic carbon in California rangelands, with a focus on identifying management strategies that support both native grassland conservation and sustainable working lands. Prior to and during graduate school, Dabid has worked as a botanist, field technician, and restoration practitioner with Point Blue Conservation Science, the Wiyot Tribe, and other community and conservation partners across California. His work has included vegetation monitoring, rare plant surveys, ecocultural restoration, and community-based stewardship.

Jack Hagenbuch is a first-year PhD student in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management program at UC Berkeley. His research investigates how grazing management shapes rangeland plant communities, combining field sampling with remote sensing. Prior to graduate school, Jack worked as a geospatial researcher and field ecologist with NASA DEVELOP and the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, studying how rangeland management practices affect plant communities across the Intermountain West. His current research focuses on grazing intensity and its influence on spring plant establishment in California’s complex grassland ecosystems.

Maya Martinez is a student at the University of California, Merced. She has a passion for working with all forms of wildlife and has found a community at the campus by working in the reserve. She is very excited to work on monitoring the phenological shifts on native plant species within the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve to see how climate change has been impacting these sensitive ecosystems. With the experienced gained from this research, she hopes to find a long-term career within conservation ecology.

Sarah is a Masters in Biology student at Sonoma State University where she is studying nest site fidelity of Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata), a native species in serious decline. Her research site is within a California grassland cattle ranch, and she aims to better understand the nesting patterns of this vulnerable species. Sarah is a first-generation college student who plans on pursuing a PhD degree to eventually become a college professor where she can continue environmental research and teaching. Beyond her biology studies, she works as a Teaching Assistant and as a Restoration Technician. She devotes her time to service, volunteering at a local family run farm and propagating native species in her free time.

My name is Kekoa Nelson and I am a second year PhD student in the Graduate Group in Ecology at the University of California, Davis. I am in Justin Valliere’s Invasive Weed and Restoration Ecology lab studying prescribed fire in serpentine meadows in California, the effects of wildfires across serpentine and non-serpentine soils in California, and prescribed fire outreach to land managers and stakeholders. My general research interests are restoration ecology, California native plants, and prescribed fire!       More specifically, my research looks at the effects of prescribed fire in serpentine meadows of differing restoration histories. Areas of high management have undergone active restoration in the form of prescribed fires, hand removal of invasive species, and chemical treatments of invasive species, resulting in a high native species composition. Areas of low management have experienced little restoration in the form of cattle grazing, hand removal of invasive species, and chemical spot treatments of invasive species or no restoration at all, resulting in a high invasive species composition. With these differences in species composition, we focus on invasive species removal and native species restoration in low and high managed plots after experiencing a fall prescribed burn.

Ethan VanValkenburg is a PhD candidate in Biology at Stanford University in Tadashi Fukami's Community Ecology Lab. He is learning about the community ecology, resilience, and restoration of plant-pollinator communities in California's serpentine grasslands and agroecological landscapes in southern Costa Rica. Originally from Michigan, he has loved getting to know California's natural history through research and finding local flora on hikes and bicycle rides. Before starting at Stanford, he investigated nectar micronutrients and pollinator behavior, perennializing crops, marsh birds in the Great Lakes, and ungulate biogeography.