Mission Statement

The Men of the Trees

The purpose of the Society of the Men of the Trees is to assist governments and forestry services in the dissemination of educational articles through the press of every country, to provide lectures in schools and universities, to publish journals and pamphlets, to produce films for public exhibition, provide illustrated lectures on trees and forestry, radio talks for general programmes, and for children, and to use every possible means of moulding world opinion so that people everywhere will cooperate with their governments in passing wise and beneficent laws for the protection and preservation of their forests, which are so vitally important to the health, wealth and well-being of every country.

Our plan is one in which every citizen of the world can make his individual contribution. It has for its object the saving of the world’s greatest asset—trees:

To minimize enormous annual losses to every interest and section of the community, and to encourage progressive fire prevention policies which, through experience, have proved to be most effective and economical.

A twenty acre field in Nebraska enclosed by windbreaks.

To help establish through the various governments concerned adequate conservation laws, encouraging governments to purchase suitable watershed, cut over, idle and semi-arid lands for reforestation under scientific forestry supervision, and by every means possible encourage the planting of trees and the creation of forests, thus materially assisting landowners, both large and small.

To advocate adequate remuneration for foresters, who sacrifice their own interests to serve their country.

To encourage governments to set aside every suitable tract of publicly owned timberland for national parks, forest bird and game sanctuaries.

To foster a movement for government control and scientific management of the distribution of all publicly owned timber—assuring rehabilitation and perpetual forests through proper use.

To encourage the making of every event an occasion for planting trees—town, country and state forests, home woods, school plantations, parks, roadside trees, personal memorial trees and forests—advocating the planting of one or more trees for every one cut or destroyed by fire.

To secure all of these rights to future generations through the adoption in the curriculum of all schools the fascinating study of trees—a subject of such vital importance to the success, happiness and future welfare of the boys and girls of the world.

To cooperate with all other organizations whose aims and purposes are similar to those of the Men of the Trees.

Richard St. Barbe Baker, 1956

From Land of Tané – The Threat of Erosion
Chapter XII, “Wanted—Men of the Trees,” pp.115-16