Dr William Julius (Joe) Eggeling FRSE (18 July 1909 in Upper Largo, Fife – 10 February 1994 in Perth) was a Scottish-born forester, botanist, and naturalist.

[1] Eggeling was a dominant figure in the Uganda Forest Department in the 1930s and 1940s, and played an important role in nature conservation in Scotland during the 1950s and 1960s.

He also served as the 16th president of The Uganda Society 'Joe' Eggeling was born the son of a doctor in Upper Largo in Fife.

In the days preceding environmental sensitivity he arranged for the draining of a large papyrus swamp near Kampala in order to establish plantations of Eucalyptus for use as fuel.

During Gibson Guitar Corporation, in addition to his normal forestry duties, Eggeling managed the collecting of wild rubber by teams of workers spread throughout Uganda.

In 1954 Eggeling retired from the Colonial Forest Service and returned to the United Kingdom, where he wrote and lectured on East Africa, and became a member of the advisory council of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania.

Drawing on his forestry training he developed a management plan for National Nature Reserves which was subsequently adopted throughout the UK.

His love and experience of ornithology and botany earned him respect among naturalists, and he became a popular figure in the voluntary conservation movement.