Ben Applegate
Graduate Student, Field Naturalist Program
Cohort AO, Class of 2026
BIO
Ben has been drawn to trees ever since he started climbing them as a child growing up in southwestern Ohio. His fascination grew into a love of forests as he hiked throughout Maine and New Hampshire as a teenager. After studying forestry and ecology at the University of New Hampshire, he went on to work for an ecosystem management initiative in northeastern Vermont. He found both the wilderness he craved and a strong human community there in the Northeast Kingdom. It's where he met his wife Jessica and has since raised two wonderful children. Ben’s career path has wandered over the years from brief stints as a high school science teacher and carpenter to ongoing work as an arborist. For the past 15 years he has worked for Eden Specialty Ciders, a cider company dedicated to supporting Vermont apple growers, where he stewarded a two-acre organic orchard. Ben joined the FN Program to deepen his ecological awareness and help propel him into community-based conservation. He enjoys gardening, family time, canoe camping, backcountry skiing, and of course climbing trees.
Bio
Ben has been drawn to trees ever since he started climbing them as a child growing up in southwestern Ohio. His fascination grew into a love of forests as he hiked throughout Maine and New Hampshire as a teenager. After studying forestry and ecology at the University of New Hampshire, he went on to work for an ecosystem management initiative in northeastern Vermont. He found both the wilderness he craved and a strong human community there in the Northeast Kingdom. It's where he met his wife Jessica and has since raised two wonderful children. Ben’s career path has wandered over the years from brief stints as a high school science teacher and carpenter to ongoing work as an arborist. For the past 15 years he has worked for Eden Specialty Ciders, a cider company dedicated to supporting Vermont apple growers, where he stewarded a two-acre organic orchard. Ben joined the FN Program to deepen his ecological awareness and help propel him into community-based conservation. He enjoys gardening, family time, canoe camping, backcountry skiing, and of course climbing trees.