June 7, 2024
Students enrolled in recognized Ontario educational institutions can now apply for landscape and horticulture scholarships in just a few minutes online. The Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation (Foundation) has invested in streamlining the application process and made the online application experience more user-friendly. Applicants can also save their progress and complete the application when time allows.

The Foundation website lists all available scholarships online at  OHTF.ca/scholarships. Here, students can apply for one or more of the available post-secondary, apprenticeship or post-graduate scholarships that range from $500 to $2,000.

In addition, horticulture educators can nominate students for a $2,000 scholarship under the Cullen Family Scholarship program. One student per school is awarded a scholarship, with a $4,000 scholarship available for a need-based circumstance and two $1,000 apprenticeship scholarships (any school).

Back in 2018, Blaise Mombourquette was a student at Algonquin College, where he was nominated for the Tony DiGiovanni Scholarship. The $1,000 bursary recognized Mombourquette for ”exemplifying the qualities that build trust in the profession of horticulture.”

“It is my hope and mission to inspire others — whether clients, future employees or just people I come into contact with — to engage with the outdoors and spend more of their lives growing with the world and people around them rather than turning inwards or toward their screens,” Mombourquette wrote in letter thanking the Foundation for its support.

DiGiovanni’s scholarship fund, along with many others in the program, are made possible through donations from individuals, companies and various organizations. Donations to specific scholarships can be made online via OHTF.ca/donate.

Nominations for the Cullen Family Scholarships and applications for the various post-secondary scholarships are open online until June 30, 2024. Students may be required to supply a transcript and write a short essay based on individual scholarship criteria.

Full details and online applications and nominations can be accessed via OHTF.ca/scholarships.