Help keep EnvironMentors free for every student.
EnvironMentors is 100% free for students and run entirely by volunteers.
This October we are raising money through Crowdfund UC Davis. Our goal is $1,500, and every gift beyond it goes further into the program. Gifts of any size help, starting at $5.
The drive runs October 1 through October 31. Before it opens, the donation page shows a preview.
What EnvironMentors is
EnvironMentors pairs high school students one-on-one with UC Davis scientists for a full year of original environmental research. Our students come from Pioneer High School in Woodland and meet on campus every Wednesday. In the fall they design a project, in the winter they run it, and in the spring they present it at a science fair.
The national program began in 1992 and is run today by GCSE. UC Davis restarted its chapter in 2024. More about the program.
It works
In June 2026 our chapter sent four Pioneer High School students to the GCSE International Science Fair in Panama City, all on full scholarships. Anna Callens won first place overall, and Bareera Rehman won Best Presentation. Read the story.
Why it needs your help
Students pay nothing, and our mentors volunteer their time. Part of the program is supported by an NSF CAREER award, but grant funds cannot cover everything a year of student research needs. Gifts to this drive provide general support for EnvironMentors, with priority on the students and mentors doing the work:
- Food at our weekly sessions. Snacks and pizza on Wednesday afternoons, so that science feels fun and welcoming.
- Field trips. Getting students out to see research happening across campus and beyond.
- Lab and field equipment and research supplies. The materials student projects run on.
- Science fairs and travel. Poster printing and the travel that lets mentors and students present their research at science fairs, including the international fair.
What your gift does
A few examples of where gifts at different levels go.
Helps put snacks out for students at a Wednesday session.
Helps cover pizza for a session.
Helps print a student's research poster for the science fair.
Helps buy research supplies for a student's project.
Helps take the group on a field trip.
Helps send a mentor and student to present their research at a science fair.
These are examples, not price tags. Every gift goes to the same fund and supports the whole program.
How giving works
Gifts are made through UC Davis on the Crowdfund UC Davis platform, to the EnvironMentors Support Fund, and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The minimum gift is $5. Questions about a gift can go to gifts@ucdavis.edu, and questions about the program to Grey Monroe at gmonroe@ucdavis.edu.
Thank you. Anything makes a difference.
Other ways to support EnvironMentors
A double impact
It's a double impact. Your gift backs two groups at once: the high school students taking their first real steps in science, and the UC Davis undergraduate and graduate students who mentor them. Few programs give college students mentorship experience this hands-on, the kind they carry forward for the rest of their careers.
Donate equipment
Student projects run on simple measuring tools: thermometers, pH meters, soil moisture meters, hand lenses, and field supplies. New, gently used, and lab surplus items are all welcome.
See the equipment wishlistLarger gifts and sponsorships
For larger gifts, we'd love to talk. Sponsorships and endowments from companies, community organizations, and individuals are what give the program durability and reach. A major gift puts your name, or your organization's, behind UC Davis as a place of education and research, and behind the next generation of scientists, leaders, and inventors who will make the discoveries of the future.
Local businesses have already sponsored our science fair, field trips, student travel, and student awards. If a substantial gift, a corporate sponsorship, or an endowment is something you'd consider, reach out to Grey Monroe or the UC Davis Development Office and let's start a conversation.
Start a conversationFor UC Davis PIs and labs
EnvironMentors is a genuine partnership with UC Davis labs, and a strong broader-impacts collaboration. We run the program day to day, so taking part is low-lift. A few ways your group can be part of it:
- Encourage your students to mentor. Undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs all make great mentors, and it's a rare, valuable experience for them.
- Provide space and support for the research. Bench space, greenhouse or field access, and a little guidance go a long way.
- Donate spare or surplus materials. Supplies your lab no longer needs can be exactly what a student project does, and it helps the program for the long run.
- Include EnvironMentors in your broader impacts. We're happy to write a letter of support. And we'd welcome you as a real partner by adding a line item to help cover the cost: about $1,000 supports one student for a full year.
EnvironMentors at UC Davis is supported in part by the National Science Foundation through an NSF CAREER award to Grey Monroe (NSF #2338236).