Are you a college student who is currently studying or plans to study Forestry? If so, check out the details of this scholarship from Wood Splitters Direct because they are offering an annual scholarship that you may be interested in.

The Details:

• Amount: $500
• Deadline: July 1
• Winner Announced: August 1

Eligibility:

• Any legal U.S. resident who is 18 years or older and is currently attending or will be attending an accredited college or university for Forestry or something related to that field is eligible for this scholarship.

To Apply:

• To apply for the scholarship, please write and submit a short essay between 750 and 1000 words on the following topic:
  • Explain the positive and negative impacts of wolf reintroduction, both environmentally and economically.

• We are looking for applicants who can creatively and clearly address the topic above. The winner will be chosen based on originality, writing ability, creativity, and overall excellence.
• Before copying and pasting your essay inside of the essay box on the submission form at the bottom of this page, please put your age, date of birth, and what college/university you are currently attending or will be attending. Once this has been typed, paste your essay after. Don’t forget to save your essay in another place in case of browser error.

The Winner:

• The winner of the scholarship will be announced by August 1st, 2018. The winner and any runners-up may potentially have their essay featured on Wood Splitters Direct in the future.
• To receive the scholarship, the winner must provide proof of enrollment in the college or university that they indicated in the application process. This may be as simple as providing us a transcript, acceptance letter, etc.

Privacy:

• By submitting an application applicants must acknowledge that Wood Splitters Direct and its related companies may call or contact you in regards to the scholarship.

Publicity:

• By accepting this scholarship award, the winning recipient and runners-up agree that Wood Splitters Direct may use his or her name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting Wood Splitters Direct and/or its products and services, or the Wood Splitters Direct Scholarship program in the future.

*This directly relates to the winners and runners-up who may have their winning essays featured on Wood Splitters Direct blog.

Ownership:

• By submitting an application to this scholarship, you must acknowledge that Wood Splitters Direct will own your application and written responses. Therefore, applicants do not reserve any rights in and to the application and written response submissions. Wood Splitters Direct shall have the right to edit, composite, scan, duplicate, or alter the application and written response submissions for any purpose they deem necessary.

Originality:

• Each applicant must submit work that is his or her own and original, previously unpublished, and has been written and created solely for this specific scholarship. Plagiarism and copying the work of someone else is unacceptable and will result in a forfeit from the applicant pool.

-- Our scholarship program has been suspended until further notice. --

“What do you believe to be an effective way that the lumber industry does contribute and can continue to contribute more in the future to overall environmental sustainability?”

Winning Essay by Philip Williams at the University of Montana:

Planet Earth evolves continuously, living and breathing through the diverse lungs of change. Human beings share the planet with an amazing array of life and natural processes that all work together to keep Earth dynamic and thriving. Nonetheless, people play a critical role in shaping Earth and, to a large degree, determining whether natural systems can stay on a trajectory of adaptation and health. Forestry blends human and natural efforts in a special combination of wills that can work together to promote mutual benefits. For instance, consider a western Rocky Mountain forest stand choked with small and largely unhealthy trees resulting from decades of fire suppression. A harvest operation can enter the stand and remove the trees that would normally have been removed under a natural, low-intensity fire occurrence. In a scenario like this, human will performs a natural function (removing thick vegetation) in an effort to restore functionality to the forest. Now, increased levels of light, water, nutrients, and growing space can encourage healthy growth of historically-dominant species such as western larch and ponderosa pine. Although somewhat simplified, this example typifies the harmonious junction between human and natural “wills” and the benefits for each. Humans gain a sustainable source of wood and income, while the forest becomes restored and put back on a trajectory of adaptable change. Making our forests healthy and adaptable is one expression of ensuring environmental sustainability because we help nature prepare for an era filled with climatic uncertainty and rapid change. The lumber industry also provides an impetus for ethical forestry by providing a practical, economic market. Humans use wood products every day; population growth demands more house lumber; and ethics demand restoration of unhealthy forests. The forest products industry can meet both the needs of society and nature by providing us with a sustainable source of fiber and the natural world with much-needed restoration. In addition, once an ecosystem can function again under its own power, the lumber industry can still make sustainable timber harvests while supporting a healthy forest. For instance, stream flows can be improved for threatened fish species and forage increased for ungulates by progressive thinning and planting operations. Moreover, timber harvests can closely mimic natural disturbance events such as fire and wind-throw while simultaneously benefiting human, wildlife, and vegetation needs and trends.

Essentially, there is nothing greener than harvesting a tree. The very notion of “green” implies working with nature, not against it. Simply watching nature struggle through the impacts of human mistakes without taking action to mitigate those degradations cannot be called green or sustainable. Feeling satisfied as mere passengers on this Earth goes against an ethical obligation to repair what we harmed. If we take a step into outer space and view Earth, we might glimpse the interconnectedness between all life and the precious orb we call home. The atmosphere, oceans, continents, vegetation, animals, fish, and poles all interrelate to sustain life – and this includes humans. We cannot separate ourselves from nature any more than we can part our heads from our bodies. Humans depend on nature for life, and partaking in natural functions becomes a necessity if we want to survive and thrive. But just as people are not inherently bad for nature, neither are we inherently good for it. We have seen the results of past mistakes in garbage-filled oceans, fire-suppressed forests, and people too afraid to take a necessary place in ecosystem management. But we have also seen, and will continue to witness, the beautiful harmony that can result when people rely on sound science and ethical principles to manage natural areas for human and natural benefit. We simply take our place as a rational creature that cognitively chooses to perform actions beneficial to organisms other than our own species. In this way, when we cut a tree, we fell it for more than ourselves…we cut a tree to create fire-resistant, adaptable forests that can support the amount of diversity it did before human-induced degradation occurred. The lumber industry shows itself as a green industry because it allows people to take their place in nature as rational, ethical stewards.

Overall, we should remember that humans do behave differently than other organisms when we manage a forest, and this implies an ethical obligation. People are the only life form on planet Earth that can rationally and consciously manage forests for organisms other than themselves. We need to take advantage of this great gift and blend our human needs with those of the non-human world. The lumber industry promotes continued natural health and balance when it harvests trees because it initiates a positive interaction between humans and nature which has historically been all too lacking. Again, humans are neither inherently good nor bad for nature; we must choose which kind of stewards we will become. When we do, we have the opportunity to fulfill human needs while setting Earth on a course of continued adaptation to sustain ourselves and the precious, interconnected orb of life.