From the Funeral of Richard St. Barbe Baker "The word 'responsibility' comes to mind. We must investigate truth independently and respond to that truth once found and what a joy it is to see in an individual continuous response to act out these truths throughout an entire lifetime. This is the meritorious example we have in Richard St. Barbe Baker... Six days ago we saw him struggle with superhuman effort to get from the car to a wheelchair to take part in a special tree planting ceremony on the banks of the Saskatchewan River. We saw him again, undertake a second difficult effort a few moments later to stand with the children around the tree to offer a prayer. While observing this effort we experienced the meaning of responsibility - responsibility before God, the results of which are a service to mankind..." Prof. Otto Donald Rogers
"There is a vast sea of knowledge, still largely unknown, and much of it is forever beyond the wit of man, on the shores of which St. Barbe Baker was privileged to make his life. He ventured into the deeps with great skill and courage, and returned to share his new found treasures with his many happy companions. Now he has flown from us on the wings of morning and goes to dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. Over the course of time, the original thoughts and life-long actions of St. Barbe Baker will have broader and broader impact on the peoples of the world. What greater memorial could the Man of the Trees ask for?" Dr. J.W.T. Spinks
From the Eulogy:
Today we bless Richard St. Barbe Baker, a man who was responsible for the planting of billions of trees... My life has been profoundly affected by St. Barbe and it has been my privilege to have known him for some ten years and to have been with him in his last days. I first met St. Barbe after winning the Men of the Trees prize, an award he set up here at the University of Saskatchewan upon receiving an honourary doctorate here in 1971. I wrote a letter of thanks to him in England and eventually ended up visiting him while travelling there. He greeted me with such warmth and gusto, I was overwhelmed - it was as if I had been a lifelong friend. It didn't take me long to see I was in the presence of a most remarkable man. At age 84, he was learning Chinese so he could ride horseback across Mongolia - one of the world's large deserts he had not surveyed for reforestation. Far-fetched I thought, until I learned that at age 76 he rode the entire 1200 mile length of New Zealand visiting schools and lecturing about trees. This was St. Barbe. His whole life was full of vision and daring... ...No institutions could confine his imagination and zest for living. The organization he started, "The Men of the Trees," became a vehicle for formal lobbying and educational efforts; but as a self-appointed roaming ambassador for trees, the world was his home. He was truly a world citizen. Wherever he went, he would begin mobilizing people and resources to conservation and tree planting efforts. Whoever found himself with him became his extra arms and legs - organizing lectures and talk shows and typing correspondence. He gave himself totally to every situation he was in and he trusted that life would provide him with what he needed in return. This was part of his ecological law of return in action. While respectful of protocol and people, he had no qualms about visiting anyone, be they presidents or paupers, even without notice when there was a job to be done... ...He knew that true power came from surrendering our personal sense of power and pride in knowing, and plunging ourselves continually back into the unknown, the unseen source of life, love and creation... He gave every ounce of love that he drew from the depths of his being back into life. With that giving, he died in our arms..." Robert White [Robert White went on to author Spiritual Foundations For An Ecologically Sustainable Society.] *From The Friendly Trees, by Henry Van Dyke
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