I would like to begin this article with a thank you to our generous members for donating to the NHLA Scholarship fund. With your assistance, each year we are able to help students pursue their dream in the Green Industry.

This year, we awarded three scholarships. The first recipient is Linnea Compton from Spofford, NH, who is studying environmental science and landscape and environmental design at NHTI. Our second recipient is Kaitlyn Lord from Charleston, ME, who is studying environmental horticulture at the University of Maine; and our third recipient is Jamieson Lewis Simpson from Nashville, TN, who is studying environmental horticulture with a concentration in horticultural business at the University of Maine.

Linnea took an interest in plants from a very early age, often helping her mom with seasonal plantings and weeding in their garden as a young girl. She originally went to school for, and acquired her bachelor’s degree in, architecture, but soon discovered that she desired a career that allowed her to be outside, enjoying the beauty of nature and working with plants. She worked as an indoor environmental applications engineer before deciding to go back to school to pursue both an environmental science and landscape and environmental design degree at NHTI. She loves her courses, and hopes in the coming years to find a career in which she can utilize her creativity, work on a variety of tasks, be involved in the natural world around her, and work outside for at least part of the time. Linnea wants to be able to use design and bioremediation to help encourage positive interactions between people and plants within New Hampshire communities.

Kaitlyn graduated from Foxcroft Academy in 2022, and decided to enroll at the University of Maine, majoring in environmental horticulture. She loves the program and is expected to graduate in 2026. During high school, she worked for a small local company specializing in property management and creating lasting impressions for a homeowner or business owner. She has been able to utilize skills acquired from that job during her employment by one of her university advisors, aiding her advisor in research projects. Kaitlyn is a dependable and diligent worker, and looks forward to her coming career in the Green Industry.

Jamieson’s love for horticulture comes from his upbringing: his mother loved to garden and his father grew up on a farm in Hampden, ME. Both his parents instilled the care of plants and the environment, as well as resourcefulness and repurposing materials, into him from a very young age, and his father’s love for landscaping was passed onto him. After graduating from high school, Jamieson took a gap year and volunteered with UK WWOOF and AmeriCorps NCCC. For the first half of the gap year, he worked on farms in Papa Stour, Huntly, and Forres in Scotland. He was able to participate in many interesting projects, including building raised beds, starting an entire garden from seed, helping with the construction of a barn from sea stones and refurbished pallet wood, flocking sheep, tagging lambs, managing gardens, planting tree saplings, doing some logging, rebuilding an old arboretum, and reintroducing native species to the local area. His interest in horticulture and small-scale farming was piqued while working with a gardener who managed a market garden and taught him the process of going from soil to the customer. For the second half of his gap year, his service in AmeriCorps NCCC taught him about environmentalism, community support, and was a good character-building experience.
Jamieson is on the Bureau of Land Management team in the Pacific Region, focusing on conservation work. He has gained knowledge in trail maintenance, fuels management, wildlife mitigation, and invasive species removal. All of these experiences have given him a greater understanding of land preservation. He is eager to begin school, learn more, and further enhance his skills in, and understanding of, horticulture.

All three of our scholarship winners are excellent students, have a great work ethic, abound with ambition, and are on their way to very successful careers. We look forward to seeing them at future NHLA events and wish them the best of luck as they pursue their goals and dreams!

A special THANK YOU goes out to all who donated to the scholarship fund (see page 10 of the May Newsletter). It makes a real difference in the lives of deserving students!

by Maria Rainey