Mel Fellowship Program
The Maryland Forestry Foundation is pleased to offer four annual Mel Fellowships to Maryland college students for $10,000 per Fellowship.
Made possible by an annual grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Mel Fellowship program is intended to encourage students to pursue careers in Natural Resources and Urban Forestry and to help them matriculate in a Natural Resources-related field of study.
The Fellowship program is named after Mel Noland, one of the state's preeminent citizen leaders in forestry and the Chesapeake Bay protection. Mel championed sustainable forestry practices across the state and worked tirelessly with the state's Forestry Boards to support forest education efforts and establish school forests on all school campuses.
Mel was named an honorary Admiral of the Chesapeake by Governor Martin O'Malley in 2009, the highest award the Governor can give to a private citizen.
The responsibilities of the Fellowship are listed below, a primary one being to act as an ambassador for the Natural Resources Careers Camp and various Foundation Urban Forestry programs and initiatives. In travels and meetings sponsored across the state, fellows will be introduced to various industry, government, and nonprofit professionals, making important contacts for future job searches.
Fellowship applications and letters of recommendation must be submitted online - a pdf of the application can be found here if you want to preview what information is required.
Our 2023 Fellows appeared in a webinar in June of 2024 hosted by the Maryland Forestry Foundation. Watch the video below to hear more on their Fellowship experiences.
