Craig Tufts Scholarship | National Wildlife Federation

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The Craig Tufts Educational Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Craig Tufts, Chief Naturalist of the National Wildlife Federation. Each year the fund grants an award to one youth to attend a week-long summer outdoor educational adventure camp at Family Nature Summits. The fund provides travel, room and board, and program fees for the award winner and an accompanying parent or guardian.

The 2023 Family Nature Summit will be held July 7-13 in the North Woods region of Minnesota. For more information, visit familysummits.org.

About the Fund

Who was Craig Tufts?

Craig worked for the National Wildlife Federation for 33 years as Chief Naturalist. He was excited about everything living and understood a tremendous amount about the natural world around him, no matter where he was. Being with Craig on a walk was like having a guide beside you. Craig was always happy to point things out to anyone and was just as excited to see something for the 50th time as he was to see it for the first time.

What is the Craig Tufts Educational Scholarship Fund?

The Craig Tufts Educational Scholarship Fund continues Craig’s legacy, replicating the spark he provided for so many with his extensive knowledge of and appreciation for the natural world. The fund finances an annual award that recognizes an individual between the ages of 8 and 18 who displays an interest in the natural world, aiming to foster that interest and encourage a lifelong path of environmental study. The Fund provides an opportunity for a young person to experience the National Wildlife Federation's mission of inspiring individuals of all ages to care about and protect wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Submit an Application

The 2023 Craig Tufts Scholarship application is now closed. Please check our site for updates about next year’s program. If you have any questions please email us at tuftsaward@nwf.org.

Who May Apply: Anyone in the continental United States between the ages of 8 and 18

How to Apply: Each applicant will submit an original essay that addresses the following:

What are your favorite outdoor or nature-related activities?
Describe a memorable nature-related experience and the impact it had on you.
Describe any other experience or experiences you may have had learning about or protecting wildlife or the environment.
What do you hope to gain from attending the Family Nature Summit in Minnesota's Lakes and North Woods region?
How do you plan to have a future impact on the environment, either right where you live or anywhere in the world?
Add anything else you think would help the judges better understand your interests in nature and the environment.

Each essay must:

be accompanied by an application form.
be written by the applicant (not a parent or guardian).
be no more than three pages, double-spaced (about 750 words).
be typed in a 12-point font or legibly handwritten.
include page number and applicant’s name on each page.

Contributions

If you wish to make a contribution, please consider this fund as a way of carrying on Craig's legacy. Donations may be made at nwf.org/CraigTuftsFund, or made payable to Craig Tufts Fund and sent to:

National Wildlife Federation
ATTN: Craig Tufts Educational Scholarship Fund
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, VA 20190

1. What are your favorite outdoor or nature-related activities?

2. Describe a memorable nature-related experience and the impact it had on you.

3. Describe any other experience or experiences you may have had learning about or protecting wildlife or the environment.

4. What do you hope to gain from attending the Family Nature Summit in California’s coastal redwoods region?

5. How do you plan to have a future impact on the environment, either right where you live or anywhere in the world?

6. Add anything else you think would help the judges better understand your interests in nature and the environment.