It's the Fox Chapel Garden Club's 75th anniversary, but club members are the ones who are giving a gift.

The club is giving $10,000 to the Rachel Carson Homestead Association in Springdale Borough.

The garden club has made smaller donations over the years to organizations such as Phipps Conservancy that have a mission similar to the club's mission of conservation and education. Members wanted to make a larger donation this year in celebration of their anniversary.

"We also wanted to donate a significant amount to make an impact," club President Cece Miller said.

The Rachel Carson Homestead Association, at the birthplace of the noted environmentalist, works to preserve Ms. Carson's home and provide educational programs that are in line with her effort to preserve the environment.

The garden club chose the association for a number of reasons.

"Several of our members are very much attuned with what [the association is] doing," Mrs. Miller said.

"One of our members, the late Ruth Scott, did a lot of work with Rachel Carson, so we had a direct link.

"We went to visit the site and were so impressed with [administrators] Patricia DeMarco and Fiona Fisher and their genuine dedication and hard work and what they were accomplishing that it was an easy choice for our 75th anniversary donation," Mrs. Miller said.

The money will be used to label native gardens at the homestead, redo some of the plantings and print educational material about the gardens and gardening.

"We are very, very pleased and honored to be part of their celebration," said Ms. DeMarco, executive director of the association.

The Rachel Carson Homestead Association is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rachel Carson's birth next year, so the money will help it start that celebration.

"We were happy to mark both of these events," Mrs. Miller said.

The garden club raised the money primarily through its annual Christmas auction, she said.

The club has 48 active members and 24 associate members.