KANE — Two local students will receive the Sandy Cochran Memorial Scholarship, which is for students across the region with aspirations to pursue a career related to the stewardship of our forests and natural resources.

Natalie Zucal and Luke Jansen will each receive a $500 scholarship.

Natalie Zucal is a recent graduate of Cameron County High School and will be attending St. Bonaventure University to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies.

Luke Jansen, a recent graduate of Elk County Catholic High School will be attending Penn State University to pursue a degree in Natural Resource Management and Environmental Studies.

The Pennsylvania/New York forestry community created the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund to honor Roe S. “Sandy” Cochran, who served as a forest resources extension specialist for Penn State University for 25 years. Based in Ridgway, Cochran spearheaded numerous initiatives in the forestry community during his tenure. He was instrumental in founding the Allegheny Hardwood Silviculture Training Sessions, Kane Area Logging Safety Council and its annual Safety Field Day Competitions, the Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group (AHUG), the Ben Roach Forestry Forum, the Deer and Forest Regeneration Subcommittee of the Society of American Foresters, and a series of annual insect and disease briefings for foresters.

One mission of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund is to support students from the 17-county region of northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York who are committed to pursuing careers in forestry, natural resources management, or environmental science.

This year’s scholarship awards were supplemented by a contribution from the Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group (AHUG), a hardwood industry organization dedicated to promoting, expanding and diversifying the forest products industry through sustainable, science-based forest resource management practices. AHUG serves the 14-county region of northwest and north central PA. For more information, please visit www.sandycochran.org