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Adam Downing

Senior Extension Agent, ANR, Forestry
Adam Downing
adowning@vt.edu
(540) 948-6881

Adam Downing has worked as the Forestry and Natural Resources Extension Agent serving Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Northern District, a 28 county area from the Shenandoah Valley to Northern Virginia to Fredericksburg and Charlottesville since 2001. His professional expertise is in providing informal education regarding forestry and natural resources to address current issues in rural, urban, and rural/urban interface areas to home & landowners, professionals, decision-makers, and the general public. His mission is to enable people to make best decisions regarding the forest & natural resources, within their realm of influence, resulting in environmentally sustainable management, growth, and quality of life for that person and that community. Before his appointment with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Adam served Northwest Pennsylvania as an extension forester with Penn State. Prior to joining the “extension family,” Adam volunteered with the United States Peace Corps in Kenya as an agro-forestry extension agent. He has also worked as an Assistant Service Forester in Indiana with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Adam holds a B.S. Degree in Forestry from Purdue University and a M.S. Degree in Forest Resources from Penn State University.

  • M.S. Forest Resources, Penn State. 1999
  • B.S. Forest Management, Purdue University. 1993
  • Certified Arborist MA-4922A. 2008
  • Certified Pesticide Applicator Certificate # 90891-G. 2003
  • Munsell, J., R. Hamilton, A. Downing. 2010. Sustainable Forest Education Program Seeks to Reach the Next Generation of Forest Stewards. CSA News (55)2, 47-50.
  • Kays, J.; A.K. Downing; J. Finley. 2009. Backyard Woodlots: Filling the Small Acreage Service Provider Gap with the Green Industry. In: Piatek, K.B., B.D. Spong, S. Harrison, and D.W. McGill. 2009. Seeing the Forest Beyond the Trees: New possibilities and expectations for products and services from small-scale forestry. Proceedings of the 2009 IUFRO 3.08 Small-Scale Forestry Symposium. June 2009, Morgantown, WV, United States: West Virginia University, Division of Forestry and Natural Resources. http://www.iufro.org/download/file/7418/1472/30800-freiburg11-proceedings_pdf [[Date accessed: September 2, 2011].
  • Downing, A., J. Kays, J. Finley. 2007. Education of Backyard Woods Owners for Management of a Neglected Resource. In: Laband, D.N., ed. Proceedings of Emerging Issues Along Urban/Rural Interfaces 2. Atlanta, GA: Auburn University Press: 76-79. http://www.sfws.auburn.edu/urbanruralinterfaces/proceedings.pdf [Date accessed: January 14, 2008].
  • Kays, J. J. Drohan, A. Downing, J. Finley. 2006. The Woods in Your Backyard: Learning to Create and Enhance Natural Areas Around Your Home. Ithaca, NY: Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Engineering Service. NRAES-184.
  • Downing, A. 2006. Extension Forestry Serving Virginia’s Private Forest Landowners. Virginia Forests. 62(1): 8-10.
  • Downing, A. and J. Finley. 2005. Private Forest Landowners: What they want in an educational Program. Journal of Extension. 7 pp. http://www.joe.org/joe/2005february/rb4.shtml. [Date accessed January 14, 2008].
  • Downing, A. 2005. Wildlife Neighbors: In your backyard and in your forest. Forest Landowner. 63(3): 14-15.