The Fredericksburg Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) has awarded its 2025 $2,000 “Bill Lindemann Scholarship” to Calvin Nering, a student at the University of North Texas. Nering expects to receive his Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology for Environmental Science, with a minor in Geography, in spring 2026.
Alongside his ecology and environmental biology studies, he is researching how prairie grasses interact with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). Using Little Bluestem, one of the Texas “big four” prairie grasses, and remnant prairie soil from The Nature Conservancy’s Clymer Meadow, the project tests whether introduced microbes boost grass growth compared to a control. Findings could advance restoration science, offering a practical way to improve native grass establishment and accelerate recovery of degraded Texas landscapes.
“Our chapter’s board was impressed with Mr. Nering’s work on ecological restoration of our Texas ecosystems and his commitment to continue advocating for native plants where he lives,” noted Jonathan Watt, President of the Fredericksburg chapter of NPSOT
“I am so grateful and appreciative to receive this scholarship from NPSOT Fredericksburg. It will help me more closely engage with the end of my undergraduate studies and support my desire to enter graduate school,” Nering said after learning he is the scholarship recipient.
Nering eventually plans to pursue a master’s degree and create a project that will document the fire-promoting and fire-inhibiting effects of endomycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi on prairies. He would like to eventually work for a municipal, state, federal, non-profit, or research institution to restore and create Texas native landscapes.
NPSOT Fredericksburg established the “Bill Lindemann Scholarship” in November 2021 to promote the study and conservation of native plants of the Texas ecosystem. This is the third Bill Lindemann scholarship awarded. The scholarship applications are screened by the state NPSOT scholarship committee and finalists are forwarded to the chapter.
Students may apply to the state for the 2026 scholarships February 1 through March 15, 2026. More information is available online at https://www.npsot.org/our-work/grants-scholarships/scholarships.
More information about long-time Fredericksburg resident Bill Lindemann is online at https://www.npsot.org/posts/bill-lindemann-1937-2021.
NPSOT Fredericksburg chapter events, membership, and scholarship is online at https://npsot.org/chapters/fredericksburg
