July/August 1984 RAIN Page 7 ACCESS: Trees Trees: Guardians of the Earth, by Donald J. Nichol, 1983, 28 pp., $3.50 from: Lorian Press PO Box 147 Middleton, WI53562 This short booklet is both a tribute and an urgent appeal—a tribute to the vital role trees play in the earth's ecosystems and in the health of the human spirit, and an appeal to us to save the planet, and ourselves, by saving trees. Trees not only play a pivotal role in regulating the earth's water cycles and oxygen-carbon dioxide ratios, and in building and protecting topsoil, but they also play an essential role in enriching the human experience. In the first chapter, "The Alchemists of Nature," Nichol details the vital ecological functions of trees. The book also includes profiles of Dorothy Maclean (one of the founders of Findhorn) and Dr. Richard St. Barbe Baker. A visionary of sorts, St. Barbe Baker did much to combat the rampant mismanagement of the earth's forests in the past century. Elsewhere in the book, the author reminds us that trees provide an important "presence" in our harried lives and that trees and nature were once a part of our human identity. Trees, he says, represent a form of intelligent life, yet we all too often regard them as little more than an economic resource. The nice thing about this book is that it's not a diatribe against or a worthless indictment of present forestry practices. Its aim is to educate and inspire. In doing so, it will put many of us on our way toward helping to arrest the problem of our planet's shrinking forests. —CB The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness, by Jean Giono, $1 from: Friends of Nature do D. Smith Brooksville, ME 04617 This is the inspirational story of Elezard Bouffier, the Johnny Appleseed of France, who planted acorns wherever he went— 100 acorns per day—in southern France. The acorns grew into trees and turned a desolate region into a lush, beautiful region. This story has been reprinted numerous times {Vogue, March 15,1954; The Next Whole Earth Catalog, 1980, $12.50 from CoEvolution Quarterly, PO Box 428, Sausalito, CA 94966) and was reviewed in RAIN 11:6. —TK FROM: Trees: Guardians of the Earth Richard St. Barbe Baker Foundation 417 Cumberland Avenue South Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7H 2L3 Canada Richard St. Barbe Baker was born in Hampshire, England, in 1889, and he died in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1982 (see RAIN IX:2). Founder of Men of the Trees, St. Barbe Baker spent his life planting trees and forests and inspiring others to perpetuate the forests. The Richard St. Barbe Baker Foundation held its founding conference June 4- 5, 1984, at the University of Saskatchewan. St. Barbe Baker was a member of the first graduating class of the university in 1912, and his archival collection, the Baker Papers, will be kept in the University Archives. The purpose of the foundation is "promoting responsible maintenance and renewal of the world's tree resources." It will not have a membership, but will offer nongovernmental organizations administrative, technical, and educational assistance related to forestry and trees, focusing on Canada and developing countries. In conjunction with the conference, the foundation has published a compilation of interviews, articles, and other material about St. Barbe Baker's life and work (Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, edited by Hugh Locke, 1984, 32 pp.). This collection gives a good sense of St. Barbe Baker's deeply rooted dedication to trees and his,commitment to planting trees around the world. In his New Earth Charter (1950), St. Barbe Baker wrote, "I believe in the traditional ideal that our fields should be 'fields of the woods,' by which is meant landscape farming of every valley and plain, with woodlands in high places, shelter belts, nut and fruit orchards (of mixed species) and hedgerow trees everywhere." —TK "Wanted: Seeds, and Picks and Shovels," MANAS, volume 23, number 11 (March 14,1979), 300 from: Manas Publishing Company PO Box 32112 El Sereno Station Los Angeles, CA 90032 "Twenty years ago, an Englishwoman, Wendy Campbell-Purdy [or -Purdie], having heard Richard St. Barbe Baker say that the spread of deserts could be stopped by a green wall of trees, bought a one-way ticket to North Africa and set to work planting trees," begins the article. She planted trees in Morocco and Algeria, then founded a trust called Tree of Life to continue the work. MANAS cites a booklet. Tree of Life (do Coutts & Company, Duncannon Branch, 440 Strand, London WC2R OQS, United Kingdom), for further information.. By the way, MANAS is my favorite source for new ideas and examples of intelligent idealism. I usually hear of interesting projects in MANAS first—it's published weekly (except July and August) and is a real bargain at $10/year.'. —TK
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