Seeds in the soil - and in the heart

We first met Dr. St. Barbe Baker in 1954 in Dunedin, New Zealand, giving talks on his dedicated subject, the trees. The first time St. Barbe arrived in New Zealand was early in 1931 at the invitation of Lord Bledisloe, at that time Governor General of New Zealand, to try and solve the unemployment problem in that country. Thousands of men on relief benefit were put to planting trees. The result is New Zealand’s forestry, now a great economic asset to the nation.

River protection by a mixed planting of trees.
Jollie River, Mt. Cook Station, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Later, when he made permanent residence in New Zealand on the Mt. Cook Station and we moved to Oamaru, we saw much of each other. We gave talks in different towns of the South Island…

When we migrated to Sydney, we then had the pleasure of seeing him on each of his journeys overseas. On his last trip, which was to Canada, he was to stay in Sydney with us before his return to New Zealand; but the hand of destiny had a different plan, and he is laid to rest in Canada, the country he loved and admired so much.

Only a few men in history become the cause for humanity’s upliftment, or its degradation… St. Barbe was one of those universal benefactors. He saw the world as one country and the human race as one family and he defended the preservation of trees and promoted their propagation. To these ends he laboured with great urgency, day and night, to awaken global awareness… How often he said that if only the armies of the world fought the deserts and conquered them instead of fighting and destroying each other…

He traveled for some 60 years throughout the world. He knew many kings and rulers in both East and West. He was loved and admired and welcomed everywhere because he came to give, expecting no reward. He was a giant who did not feel superior in the presence of a beggar, not inferior in the presence of a king, but at one with all people.

I remember him telling us of flying to Iran during the Shah’s reign, with a box of seedlings on his lap for a Bahá’í project in Tehran. The Customs officials were up in arms: “Impossible, impossible!” By the time St. Barbe finished explaining in his persuasive manner, they shook hands and welcomed him and his “gift.”

His youthful enthusiasm was with him right to the end of his life. A lifetime was not long enough for him to accomplish his dream, but he has sown the seeds – billions are growing already! But what he has sown in the human heart is even more precious and fruitful…

When he crossed the Sahara Desert in a car, he came upon some travelers whose tyre had perished. They also would have, if St. Barbe had not given them his only spare tyre, disregarding the fact that if the same thing happened to him without his spare tyre, he would also perish!

St. Barbe combined dignity and simplicity; he was an aristocrat, but above all, honest and compassionate. He could afford it, as he never wanted anything for himself, but only for the world. Our oldest son was the executor of his will. The legacy he left for mankind was beyond the need for an executor. Our admiration, love and affection for this dedicated man of vision, a lover of this one world and its people, has left us all richer…

The friendship of Richard St. Barbe Baker and Chief Josiah Njongo spanned six decades, transcending barriers of time, distance, culture and race. They were born on the same day and celebrated their 88th birthdays together.

During the so-called Mau Mau uprising – a terrible time of much suffering and bloodshed – St. Barbe persuaded a chief [Josiah Njonjo of Kenya] to go with him to London and to put his case to the Queen. This was the chief of an area that had been under St. Barbe’s direction [as Assistant Conservator of Forests] and where people had been taught conservation and were able to grow enough food. The chief left his son in charge. During his absence, the Mau Mau leaders prevailed upon his son to take up arms. He did, and committed suicide, rather than take others’ lives.

St Barbe felt sad and defeated and blamed himself for such an outcome. He told the grieving mother that he would come back and rest his bones next to her son’s. “St. Barbe, there is no need for that,” she replied. “We already have your heart.”