Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute to Reopen

For more than half a century, Northland College’s Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute championed the kind of conservation stewardship embodied in Olson’s lifetime of environmental work and his writings about the lands and waters of the north.

When Northland College closed its doors in 2025, the future of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute caused concern. In response to the closure of the college, supporters created a nonprofit organization to keep the Institute and its signature programs in operation.

Northland alumni, Rocky Barker and Gus Smith, who taught at the college for 10 years, became directors of the newly formed non-profit, which is pursuing a mission of environmental education, citizen science, and public policy outreach.

“A group of us started even before Northland closed to try to bring together how we were going to keep the Sigurd Olson Institute alive,” Barker said. “The day Northland ended we applied to be a non-profit corporation in Wisconsin, applied for our 501©(3) tax-deductible status.”

The Institute is also continuing the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Awards, which honor Olson’s nine classic books with prizes for adult and children’s writing. The 2026 awards are expected to be announced by the end of this month. The awards, which have been given since 1991, drew on the work of more than a dozen volunteers to continue this year.

The Institute is planning a fundraising appeal to support its operations and address four core challenges identified by the directors: hiring staff, establishing administrative infrastructure, managing donor relationships, and sustaining legacy programs. For more information visit sigurdolsoninstitute.org.