The Vilas County Lakes and Rivers Association (VCLRA) was pleased to award its inaugural scholarship to Lakeland Union student, Joseph Boyle.  The annual VCLRA scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior and Vilas County resident aspiring to make a positive difference in the world by choosing to further their education in natural resources or a related field.

The 2018 scholarship winner stated that “in today’s society, we as people are not doing enough to take care of our natural resources.” The awardee sees that one solution is to bring the love of natural resources to our youth, which is very similar to the educational goals of VCLRA.

The applicant was inspired to protect our natural resources through working a summer aquatic job. The applicant stated that this experience with nature showed him the beauty of the world, a world waiting to be discovered.” We are reminded of a quote by a Sengalese poet, “In the end, we conserve only what we love, we love only what we understand, and we understand only what we are taught.

VCLRA is excited to contribute to Joe Boyle’s journey to discover and protect our natural world.