College students eligible for California Irrigation Institute scholarship

The California Landscape Contractors Association will offer a one-time $500 scholarship to an eligible college student to help pay for expenses associated with attending the upcoming 2011 California Irrigation Institute's 49th Annual Fall Conference, which takes place in Sacramento, Jan. 31- Feb. 1, 2011.

The scholarship recipient will also be invited to a complimentary dinner with the CLCA 2011 President on Jan. 31. CLCA will be cosponsoring the urban portion of this event for the first time in 2011.

The California Irrigation Institute is the oldest independent forum on water and irrigation in the state and typically features water experts, government agency heads, water district managers, innovative farmers and those featuring new water saving technology. The primary purpose of the institute is to host an annual conference on water issues.

This issue continues to grow in importance, and last year's 48th annual conference participation was up over 10 percent from prior years. The theme of this year's conference is titled: California Water - Can we find a Balance?  

Students who wish to apply for the scholarship must write a letter between 400-600 words explaining why they would like to attend the conference and must be attending an accredited community college or state university, majoring in ornamental horticulture, and taking a minimum of six units of college credit to be eligible to enter.

The letter should include contact information, school, field of study and the expected year of graduation. Letters should be sent to the Resource Management Committee, California Landscape Contractors Association, 1491 River Park Drive #100, Sacramento, CA 95815. The letter can also be emailed to Larry Rohlfes at larryrohlfes@clca.org. Letters must be received by Dec. 10, 2010. The chosen scholarship recipient will be notified by Dec. 17, 2010.

Once a recipient has been selected CLCA will register and pay the $150 fee for the recipient to attend the conference. Then a $350 check will be mailed to the student for travel, lodging and meal expenses by Dec. 30, 2010. The student will then be responsible to make his or her own travel arrangements.

For questions about the scholarship click here.

For more information about the conference click here.