Wilton Garden Club Awards Scholarship To WHS Senior

WILTON, CT — Wilton Garden Club has awarded its Marybeth Wheeler Scholarship to Wilton High School senior Josephine (Josie) Coleman.

The scholarship, which honors Marybeth Wheeler, a WGC member for more than 50 years, is awarded annually to a WHS senior who has shown achievement in nature, horticulture, botany or ecology. WHS science teachers nominate candidates for the award.

Coleman, an AP environmental science student, won the scholarship for multiple reasons, according to a news release from WGC. She initiated and ran a successful book drive with her friend at school to reduce paper waste; she plans to pursue a career in environmental geoscience at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom; and she participates in many other activities including school theater productions, Spanish Honors Society and ballet. Coleman also works at the local British gift store in town called Penny Ha’Penny.

As Coleman was born in the UK, she looks forward to studying there next year. She knows the UK has made great progress in sustainability and wants to see firsthand if their methods could be applied to the US and the rest of the world. “No matter our race, gender, religion, orientation, or creed, we all need the Earth,” Coleman said. “If we don’t come together to change our lives to be more sustainable, the future will be disastrous.”