Appalachian Laboratory

Johnson Environmental Education Award

Francis "Champ" Zumbrun

Francis "Champ" Zumbrun winner of the 2020 Richard A. Johnson Environmental Education Award

Francis “Champ” Zumbrun grew up next to the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, Rhode Island, and his early experiences there inspired him to seek a career in the environmental field. A Vietnam veteran, Zumbrun served four years in the U.S. Navy. Upon his discharge, he attended West Virginia University, where, with the help of the GI Bill, he received a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resource Management. Several years later, he went on to earn a Master of Science in Management at Frostburg State University.

After working several seasonal positions with the National Park Service in Texas, Indiana, and Washington D.C., Zumbrun accepted a full-time position with the Maryland Forest Service. He worked most of his 31-year career at Green Ridge State Forest in Allegany County, Maryland, starting as the Assistant Forest Manager under the supervision of John Mash and later serving as Forest Manager and Maryland Ranger. In 2009, the year he retired, Zumbrun received the “Outstanding Field Forester” award from the Society of American Foresters.

In recent years, Zumbrun has voluntarily devoted his talents to two environmental education initiatives: Project Learning Tree and the Liberty Tree program. Since 1992, as a member of the Allegany County Forestry Board and under the direction and leadership of Dr. Barbara Ornstein and Bernie Zlomek, Zumbrun has joined other volunteers in conducting Project Learning Tree (PLT) programs for students studying elementary education at Frostburg State University (FSU). At FSU, this team introduced PLT curricula and programs that used “the forest as a window on the world to increase students understanding of our environment; stimulate students’ critical and creative thinking [skills]; develop students' ability to make informed decisions on environmental issues; and instill in students the commitment to take responsible action on behalf of the environment.” Zumbrun has been part of this team at FSU since the beginning, and to date, the initiative has given 83 PLT workshops. With an average of 30 students in each workshop, approximately 2,490 teachers have participated. If only half of these trained teachers use PLT activities in their classrooms, or if only half are still teaching, over one thousand teachers are employing learned strategies to make their students more environmentally aware. If there were an average of twenty-five students in each classroom, PLT-trained teachers have exposed over thirty thousand students to environmental awareness over the past thirty years.

Photo by Fred W. Besley, circa 1920. Courtesy of Francis "Champ" Zumbrun

Zumbrun has been equally active in the Liberty Tree Project. During colonial times, communities throughout the original thirteen colonies used trees as important meeting places to discuss current events and issues. The last of these original trees, which stood on the grounds of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, died in 1999. Members of the Allegany County Forestry Board routinely collect seeds from a scion of the original tree and sell them to the public to support scholarships for high school students interested in pursuing careers in natural resources. As part of the project, Zumbrun travels throughout the region planting Liberty Trees and sharing the historical significance of these trees with community members. In 2021, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) awarded Zumbrun the National Conservation Medal. A press release states, “the NSDAR award recognizes individuals with distinguished conservation records who demonstrate outstanding efforts in wildlife and nature centers, resource management, park establishment, youth leadership, conservation-related media, and education. Zumbrun was manager of Green Ridge State Forest, where he promoted conservation and land management practices. He had taught as an adjunct instructor in the Forestry Program at the Allegany College of Maryland and is a member of the Allegany County Forestry Board. He promotes the Arbor Day Foundation by planting trees throughout area communities and leads educational conservation efforts. Zumbrun is a vital part of the Liberty Tree Project as he presents many programs on the significance of the tree and assists with the growth and planting of Liberty Tree scions.”

Zumbrun has also written and published one book about Green Ridge State Forest and another he coauthored entitled Cresap’s Rifles. He has written many articles about outdoor recreation, forestry, and public lands management. Zumbrun currently volunteers on several boards, including the Evergreen Heritage Center, the Allegany County Forestry Board, the District Governor’s Cabinet for Lions Clubs of Western Maryland Environmental Chair - where the LaVale Lions Club awarded Zumbrun the 2021 Lion of the Year Award.

Zumbrun also serves on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Federal Advisory Commission. He also volunteers for the Canal Corps Classroom program, providing STEM-based environmental education to Allegany County Public School students visiting the national park.

Champ Zumbrun and his wife Cindy reside in LaVale, where they raised two sons, Jeffrey and Ryan.