Two Men of the Trees

The handwritten inscription on the photo above reads:

'For my friend Richard St Barbe Baker
from his fellow "Man of the Trees"
[signed] Franklin D Roosevelt'

Shortly after becoming President of the United States in 1933, Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps which helped put a nation back to work.

Baker had presented the concept to Roosevelt the previous year in a private meeting in Albany, New York. Roosevelt had embraced the idea and immediately began expanding it.

Upon Roosevelt taking office, he and Baker wrote each other and Baker then met with Roosevelt's right-hand man, Henry Morganthau Jr., to impart the vision and discuss the economics involved. The rest is history.

Upon his return to Kenya in 1953 after a thirty-year absence, St. Barbe is presented with the staff of the Kiama by Thotho Thongo. Chief Josiah Njonjo beams his approval in the background. The Kiama is the honorary secret society of elders of the Kikuyu people into which St. Barbe was intiated in 1922.

In 1966 Richard St. Barbe Baker received the Freshel Award* from the Millenium Guild of New York for Sahara Conquest.

*An annual prize for the book making the greatest contribution to humanity.

 

In 1978 Richard St. Barbe Baker was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

 

In 1969 Richard St. Barbe Baker was made the first Honorary Life Member of the World Wildlife Fund.

Richard St. Barbe Baker

"Richard St. Barbe Baker has earned for himself the reputation of being the greatest living authority in the English-speaking world on the supreme value of silviculture..."

Viscount Bledisloe, Governor-General of New Zealand, 1956

"His story is ultimately about the establishment of global prosperity and hope for an end to famine. Although Richard St. Barbe Baker has been dead for more than twenty years, his message is for the present and future.

Baker was an idealist who 'walked the talk,' translating his goals into a blueprint for international cooperation... [He was] a remarkable human being whose status and influence will increase with time.”

Lester R. Brown, 2004
Washington, DC
President, Earth Policy Institute

http://www.earth-policy.org/

Lester Brown has authored or co-authored 49 books, including Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, and Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble.

He also founded the Worldwatch Institute, issuing the annual State of the World reports, and Vital Signs: The Trends That are Shaping Our Future.

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