It's not so rare for the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) to invite a private landowner to campus to talk about how he manages the natural resources under his purview. It is, however, extremely rare for such a lecture to conclude, as the one on May 3 did, with the featured speaker pounding out rafter-quaking renditions of two honky-tonk songs on a Steinway piano rented just for the occasion. But then, Chuck Leavell, the campus visitor in question, is a rare individual by any measure. A keyboardist and vocalist whose musical career stretches back nearly 30 years, Leavell has played alongside the Rolling Stones for the past decade both in the studio and on the road, most recently as part of the group's "Bridges to Babylon" tour. The musician and his wife, Rose Lane, are also owners of Charlane Plantation, a 1,900-acre tree farm in the heart of Georgia. For his work there, Leavell has twice won the Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year Award (he's the only two-time recipient). Several environmental groups have also honored him for his efforts to promote responsible management of forests and other natural resources. Leavell came to F&ES as a guest of the Yale Forest Forum, a program dedicated to promoting sustainable management of the 73 percent of the nation's forests that are privately owned. As part of its research, education and outreach initiatives, the Yale Forest Forum brings together leaders in forest management and F&ES students for discussions about the challenges facing private forests today. During his stay, Leavell gave a public address before the F&ES community and met privately with school administrators and students, as well as members of the media. Upon taking the podium for his public talk, Leavell surveyed the packed Bowers Hall auditorium, grinned, spread his arms and proclaimed happily, "Standing room only! I sold out!" Rather than "try to pontificate on the technical aspects of forestry" to a room full of students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in the subject, Leavell said, he would focus on his own experience and philosophy as a private, non-industrial owner of forest lands. Leavell was enthusiastically pursuing his musical career in 1981, when his wife inherited the farm that had been in her family for many years. The original tract, then known as "The Home Place," was a true working farm, with everything from livestock to hay meadows to timber stands, explained Leavell. While the musician pondered what to do with the property -- since his career demands left him little time to oversee such a diverse operation -- Leavell's brother-in-law suggested planting the former hay meadow with Georgia pine. "A lightbulb went off," recalled Leavell. "I still have a video of when we first planted that land. The tractor was stuck in the field and I was saying, 'Look at how tiny [the saplings] are!'" Today, those trees are 20 to 30 feet high, he added, "What a feeling it is to go by that place now." As his trees grew, so did Leavell's interest in forest management. Eventually, he joined the local Forest Landowners Association and enrolled in its correspondence course on woodlands management for private landowners. At that time, the musician was touring with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and he took his studies on the road with him. "We're riding in the tour bus, and I'm in the back of the bus doing my homework -- trees, trees, trees ...," recalled Leavell. The course required students to create a management plan for their properties. Since his tract was so large, Leavell brought in a consulting forester to help him with the task. The two divided the property into 33 distinct areas, ranging from two acres of lowland hardwoods to 150 acres of planted pine. They developed long-term plans and goals for each section, slating some areas for eventual harvesting and others as wildlife habitats. "From that point," he said, "it became a matter of implementing the plan." Leavell also became active in promoting good forest management practices within the State of Georgia and elsewhere. He is a spokesperson for the Georgia Forestry Association and is involved with Project Learning Tree, an environmental education program for youngsters. He has twice chaired the annual Environmental Reunion in Georgia, which brings together private landowners with representatives from paper and lumber companies, environmental groups and the news media for a roundtable discussion about pressing issues in resource management. Leavell also established a scholarship at the University of Georgia for students with an interest in forestry and wildlife concerns. "I have learned so much about so many things," Leavell told the audience. "I have learned a lot about forest management. I've learned a lot about wildlife management. I've learned about our ecosystem and biodiversity. I've learned a lot about tractors and how they break down and how you have to fix them in the field. It has been a joyous, joyous journey, and I'm just so grateful for it. And I'm proud -- very, very proud -- of what we've been able to do at Charlane." Leavell then shifted gears to talk about the characteristics that lead to success and pride in accomplishment, be it on the concert stage or in the world of forest management. To do this, he took each letter of the word "pride" and related it to a quality or qualities he believes are necessary to realizing success. "P" stands for "preparation," said Leavell. He described the meticulous attention to detail and long rehearsals that went into planning the Rolling Stones' 1989 "Steel Wheels" concert tour. "The bottom line is, all that preparation gave us confidence," he noted. "It's the same thing if you're writing a prescription for a particular tract of land. You have to do that legwork, the preparation that it takes of looking at the maps, walking out there, taking soil samples. The more preparation you do, the better prescription you're going to write for that tract of land." "R" is for "risks," said the musician. "You can't be afraid to make mistakes," he advised the students, noting that he's accidentally damaged trees on Charlane during controlled burns or while applying chemicals. "The trick is, of course, to learn from those mistakes," he said. "We don't want to take foolish risks; we want to make calculated risks." "I" is for "integrity," he continued. "As Coach Dooley [of the championship Georgia Bulldogs football team] said, 'It won't win you ball games, but integrity is what champions are made of.'" "D" stands for "desire, drive and determination," said Leavell. "You can do all that preparation, you can take the risk and you can have integrity, but unless you're willing to do what it takes to take that ball and run with it, and don't give up, you're not going to reach that goal." "E" stands for two things, said Leavell -- for "excellence," which "will take you to the Superbowl or the Hollywood Bowl"; and for "everybody" because "you can't do it alone." Leavell pointed as an example to the original members of the Rolling Stones. "They've all done solo records, and they're all talented. But together, they're the Rolling Stones. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. ... It takes teamwork. It takes the rest of us, too. I'm part of the team, and I'm proud to be part of the team." At the conclusion of his public address, Leavell recalled his mother's advice that "there's an art to everything." No matter what profession you pursue, he said, "There's an art to it, as well as a science. And there's certainly an art to forest management. "What fascinates me about the art of forest management is that the canvas that you work with is the real world -- it's our planet," he added. "The brush strokes that we make as forest managers are going to change the face of this world. ... It's an awesome responsibility. ... Whatever your choice is in the world of forest management, just remember: Those brush strokes that you make, make them carefully; mix those paints very, very carefully." -- By LuAnn Bishop T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Commencement, 1999 Style Facility to enhance strength in environmental sciences Guide again taps Yale as a 'must-see' attraction 'Under My (Green) Thumb': Rolling Stones sideman talks about life . . . 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 Chuck Leavell pounds out a honky tonk tune.