Honoring Richard St. Barbe Baker

Founded Men of the Trees

Established in Kenya, July 22, 1922, with 3,000 Kikuyu warriors (Watu wa Miti)

Officer of the British Empire

Awarded OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1978 New Year Honours

WWF First Honorary Member

First Honorary Life Member of World Wildlife Fund in 1969

Sacred Kikuyu Honor

Only white person ever initiated into the Kikuyu Kiama (sacred council of elders)

Honorary Doctorate

Doctor of Laws from University of Saskatchewan, November 6, 1971

26 Billion Trees Planted

Organizations he founded or influenced contributed to planting an estimated 26 billion trees globally

"For my friend Richard St Barbe Baker from his fellow 'Man of the Trees' - Franklin D Roosevelt."

— Inscription on photograph given to Baker

The 1922 Ceremony

300 Kikuyu elders assembled near Dagoreti, where the Matati Stick (sacred staff of office) was blessed while the Master of Ceremonies invoked Mwininyaga—the Great Spirit dwelling on Mount Kirinyaga. Each elder processed past Baker and performed ritual blessings using Mucharaway leaves.

The 1953 Recognition

Thotho Thongo presented Baker with the Staff of the Kiama in a ceremony attended by his longtime friend Chief Josiah Njonjo, who had co-founded the tree-planting movement with Baker in 1922.

WWI Era

Military Cross (MC) — British Crown
Awarded for bravery during World War I service

1922

Initiation into Kiama — Kikuyu Elders, Kenya
First and only white person initiated into the sacred council

1953

Staff of the Kiama — Thotho Thongo, Kenya
Sacred staff of office presented upon return to Kenya

1966

Freshel Award — Millennium Guild of New York
Annual prize for "the book making the greatest contribution to humanity" (for "Sahara Conquest")

1969

First Honorary Life Member — World Wildlife Fund
Pioneering recognition just 8 years after WWF's founding

November 6, 1971

Honorary Doctor of Laws — University of Saskatchewan
Recognized "more than 50 years crusading against destruction of trees"

1972

Friends of Nature Conservation Award
50th anniversary of founding Men of the Trees

December 31, 1977 (1978 New Year Honours)

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) — Queen Elizabeth II
Citation: "Richard St. Barbe Baker, Forestry Adviser. Founder, Men of the Trees."

1979

Prince Charles Becomes Patron — Men of the Trees
Continues as King Charles III, Patron of International Tree Foundation

1983 (Posthumous)

Special Achievement Award — Arbor Day Foundation
Recognition following his death in June 1982

🇨🇦 Canada (Saskatchewan)

• Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area — 326 acres of boreal-like woodlands in southwest Saskatoon, named December 28, 1978, managed by Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc.
• Baker Road — Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344, near his original homestead
• University of Saskatchewan Memorial Marker — At the site of his last tree planting
• Woodlawn Cemetery, Saskatoon — Burial site beneath two large spruce trees fulfilling his wish

🇬🇧 United Kingdom (Hampshire)

• Bronze Memorial Monument — West End, Hampshire (his birthplace), unveiled March 2003, featuring bas-relief by sculptor Jill Tweed
• Barbe Baker Avenue — Street naming in West End village
• Grove of Thirty Trees — Planted at Hatch Grange, Hampshire, after his death

🇦🇺 Australia (Western Australia)

• St. Barbe Grove Nursery — Hazelmere, headquarters of Trillion Trees Australia (formerly Men of the Trees WA)
• Organization has planted over 15 million trees continuing his legacy

"Why have we not heard of this extraordinary Man of the Trees, Richard St. Barbe Baker? He was, without doubt, one of the greatest advocates for the protection and restoration of forests ever. I am amazed by his life and accomplishments. He is one of my heroes."

— Introduction to Paul Hanley's biography, 2018

Wrote the foreword to the definitive 2018 biography and has served as Patron of Men of the Trees/ITF since 1979 (as Prince of Wales). His long-term support demonstrates the enduring relevance of Baker's conservation vision.

"St. Barbe Baker was among the first foresters to identify and celebrate the hidden life of trees. He described the forest as a 'society of living things, the greatest of which is the tree.'... I hope the publication of this biography will inspire a new generation of tree lovers and forest protectors."

"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."

"You feel the passion and earnestness of the man who has given his life to a great devotion... In his love for forestry he wears his heart on his sleeve. His manner becomes animated. His eyes widen."

"Be like a tree in pursuit of your cause. Stand firm, grip hard, thrust upward. Bend to the winds of heaven. And learn tranquility."

"Today it is the duty of every thinking being to live, and to serve not only his own day and generation, but also generations unborn, by helping to restore and maintain the green glory of the forests of the earth."

"If a man loses one-third of his skin he dies; if a tree loses one-third of its bark, it too dies. If the Earth is a 'sentient being', would it not be reasonable to expect that if it loses one-third of its trees and vegetable covering, it will also die?"

"Is it too much to hope that the Iron Curtains of the world will give place to the Green Front?"

— N'Djamena, 1952

Trees Planted

Through organizations he founded or influenced worldwide

Countries Reached

At the height of Men of the Trees' global expansion

Years of Service

Active conservation work from WWI era to 1982