Ben Addlestone
Over 25 years’ experience in biological and environmental sciences that includes domestic and international policy, field and laboratory, working with non-profits, for-profits, academia and government. I have a B.S. in Forestry Management and an M.S. in Forestry with a focus on temperate and tropical agroforestry systems.
I have experience in market-based solutions to promote sustainability including standards development, certification, stakeholder engagement, supply chain metrics, and research-based problem solving. I have extensive international work in including Central Africa and New Zealand in the arenas of watershed restoration, small-holder and community-level agriculture, forestry and bio-security, Currently my focus is on developing service learning projects for African forestry students to monitor fragmented forested regions and engage with local communities to co-develop techniques to address improves economic and environmental outcomes through agroforestry and adaptive management.
Education
- M.S. Forestry, North Carolina State University
- B.S. Forestry, University of Vermont
- Wilkens, P., J.F. Munsell, J.H. Fike, G.J. Pent, G.E. Frey, B.J. Addlestone, and A.K. Downing. 2022. Thinning Forests or Planting Fields? Producer Preferences for Establishing Silvopasture. Agroforestry Systems. 96:553-564.
- Addlestone, Benjamin; Munsell, John and Derick Winn. Nutrient Trading in Virginia: Where Does the Forestry Fit in? 2019. Virginia Forests. Spring, 2019: 12-15
- Munsell, J.F., B.J. Addlestone, C.J. Bukowski, L. Nkembi, N. Kingsly, and E.A. Moore. 2018. Relationships between agroforestry and community development according to practitioners. Agroforestry Systems. 92(5):1387–1396.
- Sanborn, H, Cassel, S, Addlestone, B, Petruzzi, M, Darling, D, Fernando, R and Jones, D. Development of a Performance and Environmental Certification System for Recycled Paint Products. Coatings Tech. 4(2) 72-80 2007
- Addlestone, B.J., Mueller, J.P. and J-M Luginbuhl. The Establishment and Early Growth of Three Leguminous Tree Species for Use in Silvopastoral Systems of the Southeastern U.S.A. Agroforestry Systems 44(2-3) 253-265 1999.
I am the coordinator of the Research and Community (RESCOM) project in conjunction with the National Forestry School of Cameroon/ L’Ecole Nationale des Eaux et Forêt (ENEF). RESCOM is a student service-learning and community engagement program led by ENEF and the Virginia Tech University Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. RESCOM connects ENEF student learning, community-driven development initiatives, and ENEF and VT faculty expertise within a collaborative conservation program focused on ecosystem resilience, professional development, and improved institutional and community problem-solving.
Top ENEF students participate in annual RESCOM cohorts and partner with local communities in agroforestry, advanced horticulture, enterprise development, and forestry projects within and surrounding the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve (MFR) to address critical environmental, economic, community, and educational needs. As of early 2026 a network of 28 permanent forest monitoring plots have been established within the MFR to monitor biodiversity, forest cover change and carbon storage.