Autor: Charlotte Schneider

Could an urban secretary find peace cruising timber and helping landowners understand their forest? Disappearing into the woods for hours became as natural as shopping. Lessons learned from trees go way beyond anything taught in schools. My German immigrant parents sought adventure, but having their only girl run off to the woods must have been difficult, though my maternal grandfather who hunted mushrooms in the Black Forest would have understood. Adjusting to MS, rejection and loss of my hard-won career was costly. I survived depression and learned it is always possible to turn over a new leaf. I have been a Missouri forester for thirty-five years, a certified arborist since 1998, and I’m a member of ISA, MWISA, SLAA, and SCA.