Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist
Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments.
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Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist
Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments.
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Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist

Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist

Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist

Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist

Overview

Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780889775664
Publisher: University of Regina Press
Publication date: 10/13/2018
Pages: 320
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Paul Hanley is a writer with a special interest in the natural environment, agriculture, and the future of civilization. He is the author of ELEVEN and the co-author and editor of The Spirit of Agriculture, and Earthcare: Ecological Agriculture in Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon.


 

Table of Contents

Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales viii

Introduction Jane Goodall xi

Prologue xiii

Chapter 1 Child of The Trees 1

Fortunately, fortunes change; The temple of the woods; A life mission takes shape; To kill bears with a spade; Baker's Southern Wonder; A practical proposition; No collars at all; Gentling horses; Charlie Eagle and Beaver Creek; Breaking land, felling timber

Chapter 2 Call To The Forest 25

War or peace?; Back from the dead; Call to the forest-and social activism; Back at school; A lucrative dream; Ghosts of Bakers past; Lost in the bamboo; A paradox; The Treeless Place; Dance of the trees; Sacked for taking a blow; Uncle Dick

Chapter 3 Social Forestry 61

Sustainable yield in Nigeria; A brief idyll in Europe; Igi Oka; Education or catastrophe?; Baba Wa Miti

Chapter 4 Becoming Man of The Trees 83

In Palestine; Meeting the grandees; The ruse; Feast of the Trees; At Bahji

Chapter 5 Save The Redwoods! 99

A slim wallet; Another stroke of luck: Lowell Thomas; Gifford Pinchot, President Hoover, and the lecture circuit; The cathedral of nature; Save the redwoods!; With the Maoris; The battle drill; A lone fiver; I need both legs; A life not his own; He'll marry a tree one day

Chapter 6 The Civilian Conservation Corps 127

FDR and Morgenthau; A new kind of army; Men-and Women-of the Trees; Like a raven; The royals and the redwoods; The Scandinavian front; The war effort; A strange likeness of Shaw; World Forestry Charter Gatherings

Chapter 7 A New Earth 151

An emerging global consciousness; Marriage, children…and trees; A hectic schedule; The Green Front Against the Desert; On the continent; Skinned alive; The Sahara expedition

Chapter 8 The Desert Shall Bloom 167

The most inhospitable route; Mirages and fossils; A solitary tree; A graveyard of dying races; An international forest reserve; Small fields, tree surrounded; Congo; Kampala; The 'Temple of Pure Science'; An unusual conference

Chapter 9 The Vision Unfolds 199

Join the Green Front!; Other fronts; Land of Tane; At The Firs; Ban the Bomb!; Wedding bells, again; Retirement?; "The world's greatest conservationist"; A global network; The Pope and Dr. Sen; An ever-wider circle; A World Conference on Desertification

Chapter 10 Earth Healer 237

The headwaters of consciousness; The Kenya conference and Maathai; India's tree-huggers; A few words to Her Majesty; Declining health; Ninety years, ninety trees; Children of the Green Earth; A final tour

Epilogue 265

Notes On Sources 277

Photo Credits 281

Acknowledgements 283

Appendix: Books by Richard St. Barbe Baker 285

Index 287

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"My friend and mentor Richard St. Barbe Baker was a genius at figuring out how to seamlessly integrate tree planting into the cultural DNA of millions of people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. This book is part biography and part handbook for engaging a new generation in conserving and restoring the world’s forests." - Hugh Locke, President, Smallholder Farmers Alliance

Jane Goodall

“Why have we not heard of this extraordinary Man of the Trees, Richard St. Barbe Baker? He was, without doubt, one of the greatest advocates for the protection and restoration of forests ever. I am amazed by his life and accomplishments. He is one of my heroes.”

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