Oren Pollak Memorial Research Fund Grant

Oren Pollak Memorial Research Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: The Nature Conservancy
Amount: US $5,000 - US $15,000
Last Updated: January 21, 2026

Summary

Overview

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy’s scientists in California are working to inform, influence, and inspire conservation in today’s human-dominated world, to build a future in which people and nature thrive together. Oren Pollak Memorial Research Fund The Oren Pollak Memorial Research Fund was established in 2000 in memory of Dr. Oren Pollak, a leading grassland ecologist and restoration pioneer, as well as an ardent champion and mentor for grassland ecology students. As The Nature Conservancy’s lead ecologist in California in the early 1990s, Dr. Pollak established the grassland research program that continues today. He later became Director of Science in the Conservancy’s Oregon Chapter. Since 2000, the Pollak Fund has granted more than $170,000 in grasslands research funding for student scientists. The Nature Conservancy will be granting up to $20,000 for assistance to two or three student grantees to conduct research on grasslands in California or Oregon. Preference will be given to projects explicitly focused on grasslands and relevant to TNC’s conservation efforts in California or Oregon. Proposed projects may include, but are not restricted to, research on grassland management practices (e.g., restoration, grazing), habitat value for rare and threatened species, and community ecology. Studies conducted on TNC preserves and coordination with TNC preserve managers is desirable but not mandatory.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Any undergraduate or graduate student needing assistance for the implementation of a grassland research project may apply.