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By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n Eric Larson always enjoyed being in and around nature.<\/p>\n Growing up on a farm in Wyanet, Illinois, it was that passion that led him to choose Southern Illinois University Carbondale over the University of Illinois.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew since I was about 10 years old that I wanted to be a forester,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are not many trees around U of I. Southern Illinois was the perfect place for me. I fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n That decision began a journey that led Larson from SIU, to East Texas, to Tennessee, to Wisconsin, and back to Southern Illinois. He recently donated $25,000 to establish the Eric Larson Forestry Scholarship Endowment Fund.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough the years, I realized how much I learned at SIU,\u201d Larson said. \u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t know if I was going to be financially successful. As it turned out, I did pretty well and wanted to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n While attending SIU, Larson was a member of the Forestry Club and enjoyed several field trips, including treks to Missouri and Gulfport, Mississippi. He spent a summer in Oregon after his junior year working for the Bureau of Land Management.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter graduating high school with a class of about 20 students, it was great to blend in with students from around the world,\u201d he said. \u201cI was fortunate to have great instructors, and these field trips awakened my interest in forestry. It was worth seeing things in action more than just reading about them in a book.\u201d<\/p>\n After graduating from SIU in 1969, he earned a master\u2019s degree from Texas A&M and began working in the forest industry helping manage 600,000 acres of timberland in East Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I started my own business working for non-industrial landowners. I advised them and did things like planting trees, controlled burning, timber sales, and I marked individual trees to be removed, made inventories, wrote sales contracts, and I looked after logging jobs. I did the whole gamut,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a lot of hard work, but I always enjoyed being in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n He also bought some timberland and practiced what he learned in school on his own property. Later, he had jobs with the state government in Tennessee and with a lumber company in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n Larson hopes his scholarship fund in the School of Forestry and Horticulture will invigorate the next generation of passionate foresters.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope it encourages students to stick with it,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was going to school, it wasn\u2019t always easy paying the bills, and I was more fortunate than most. This is just another tool to help them achieve their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Karl Williard, director of the School of Forestry and Horticulture, said Larson\u2019s gift will make an impact on students through scholarships and supporting camps, which immerse students in forest and park management issues in other regions, including the Southeastern, Northeastern, and Western United States.<\/p>\n \u201cThis endowed scholarship is critical to future Saluki Foresters to support them in their academic journey and to lower the cost of participating in our Summer Field Camp, which is such a formative part of our student\u2019s training,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To learn more about how to make a similar gift, visit siuf.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jeff Wilson Eric Larson always enjoyed being in and around nature. Growing up on a farm in Wyanet, Illinois, it was that passion that led him to choose Southern Illinois University Carbondale over the University of Illinois. \u201cI knew since I was about 10 years old that I wanted to be a forester,\u201d he … Continue reading Larson donates $25K to help forestry students<\/span> ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/448646831_1004950137877802_2912420477936147113_n-209x300.jpg\")