Plant Trees to Save the Environment

Image Gallery Whether as a family project or an individual one, the point is to plant! PHOTO: WILLIAM WALDRON

"It is not merely that the world is bettered by saving, replacing, and multiplying trees. It is that an aim of this kind becomes an impulse towards developing a mood and an outlook which will increasingly make it natural to think for the future, for other people, for generations yet unborn. Planting a tree is a symbol of a looking-forward kind of action; looking forward, yet not too distantly." 

—Richard St. Barbe Baker

Imagine a man who for 92 years walked the earth, often broke but never lost, inspiring others to plant trees. Who organized 3,000 Kenyan warriors into a new secret society, Men of the Trees. Who started reforestation projects in Nigeria, India, New Zealand, Palestine. Who went to court to save the California redwoods—twice, at 30-year intervals. Who organized the Green Front, an international effort to stop the advancing Sahara desert with a great wall of trees. Whose inspiration and guidance were, by one estimate, responsible for the planting of over 1 trillion trees.

For Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889–1982), a healer of the earth, trees of every kind became his extended family.

Inspired by childhood experiences of bonding with trees, this British idealist trained to be a professional forester. When the bureaucratic nature of his occupation frustrated him, he struck out on his own. Baker spent the rest of his life traveling the globe organizing planting projects and, in speeches and books, raising public awareness of the need for more trees.

Today, we are all called upon to walk in Baker's footsteps. One goal of Earth Day 1990 is to have every one of us plant at least one tree. That's a good goal to start with. Some are already going further. Scientist James Lovelock, who originated the Gaia theory that the earth operates like a living organism, has, with his family, planted 20,000 trees. All of us concerned about the earth could consider, like Lovelock and Baker, putting our spades where our worries are.

Why? Since trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, they are essential for combating the global warming effect being created by excess carbon dioxide generation. Since they retain water in the soil and transpire moisture into the air, they are—in part—responsible for the ongoing existence of many springs, the even flow of rivers, and the formation of rain clouds. Since their innumerable roots hold soil in place and their bodies block wind, they are the best of all means for stopping erosion. Indeed, since they continually pull nutrients from the subsoils and drop organic matter to the earth, they are unparalleled soil builders as well.