The mission of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is to conserve California native plants and their natural habitats, and increase understanding, appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants.
The CNPS Student Research Grants Program offers financial support to students and researchers studying California's native flora. Funded by the generosity of major donors, the program aims to promote conservation, support academic and applied botanical research involving native plants, especially rare species, and research aimed at eliminating invasive exotic plants from California's flora. The grants include the Doc Burr Graduate Research Fund for graduate students working on conservation, the Hardman Native Plant Research Award for promising botanical research, the Natalie Hopkins Award specifically for women pursuing native plant studies, the Helen Sharsmith Grants for research on California's native flora, and the G. Ledyard Stebbins Award for graduate research in evolutionary botany.