Virginia Barlow received a BA in English from Bennington College and a BS in Forest Management from the University of Vermont. She worked as a consulting forester with Linda Matteson in the early 90's and when she purchased Linda’s business she named it Redstart Forestry.
Together with Stephen Long, she founded Vermont Woodlands magazine. The magazine became Northern Woodlands in 1999 to include a wider area. Virginia works half time at Redstart Forestry and half time at the magazine, where she is co-editor with Stephen Long. She has also written a nature book about the Eastern Caribbean called Nature of the Islands.
Virginia has been active in town business over the years, including two terms on the school board. She is now the Tree Warden, and a member of the Planning Commission. She has served on the Vermont Woodlands Association board and the Steering Committee for developing a 10-year plan for the Vermont Department of Forests and Parks. At the University of Vermont she received the Luther Zye award. In 1999 The Upper Valley Land Trust awarded her the Patchen Miller Award, and in 1996 the New England Society of American Foresters gave her the Ernest M. Gould Technology Transfer Award. Virginia and Steve Long jointly received the Vermont Coverts Award of Excellence in 2000.
Markus Bradley graduated with honors from Paul Smith’s College with an Associates Degree as a Forest Technician. He then transferred to the University of Vermont and received a Bachelor’s of Arts and Science in Forest Management. During his college years and in the first year following graduation from UVM, Markus worked as a technician forester, logger, and private consultant. The technician forestry employment was on industrial forestland in New York and Maine, while the logging and consulting have been in Vermont. In 1998 Markus started working for Redstart Forestry. In 2000 he was made a partner in the business.
In addition to private consulting, Markus has completed the Game of Logging safety training, manages a Christmas tree plantation, is a certified Tree Farm Inspector, and is an active member of the Vershire Conservation Commission. He lives in Vershire with his wife, Laura, and two children.
Ben Machin received an English and Biology degree from Bowdoin College and a Master’s in Forestry from University of Vermont. His research focused on using GIS data to model the expected impacts of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid in Windham County, Vermont. During his time at UVM, Ben has served as a research and teaching assistant, as well as a consulting forester for Redstart Forestry. Prior to his enrollment (and between semesters) at UVM, Ben has been employed as a firefighter with the Forest Service, most recently as a smokejumper based at the Redmond Air Center in Redmond, Oregon. Ben was made a partner in Redstart in 2004. Ben was a 1996 Watson Fellowship recipient, a 2003 Snelling Center for Government Graduate Fellow, and is a Leopold Schepp Scholar. As well as serving as a forester and tree climber, Ben is a maple syrup producer with interests in land conservation, horse logging, exotic pest and disease management, and the integration of new technology into current strategies and techniques.
