Saskatoon’s Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (325 acres) and George Genereux Urban Regional Park (148 acres) began as part of an ambitious, far-sighted afforestation greenbelt plan undertaken by the city in 1972. The plan proposed 3 categories: 1. Forest in perpetuity (660 acres), 2. Long-term planting (2200 acres), 3. Future public reserve areas (100 acres). The afforestation plan was linked with the Green Survival Program promoted by tree nurseries across North America at the time.
The 660 acres under the category “Forest in perpetuity” were planted in 1972 and 1973 on City-owned land that had been previously leased to farmers. The intent on inception was that these greenspaces become mature urban regional parks in future subdivisions when the city grew out in this direction.
Bare-root seedlings were obtained from the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration Tree Nursery at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. The species used were: American and Siberian elm, Manitoba maple, green ash, poplar, willow, caragana, Colorado spruce and Scotch pine.
The seedlings were planted with a tree planter in rows weaving in and out as much as 40 feet from the centre line. This produced a natural forest effect.
Afforestation Areas in Saskatoon
Now, coming on 50 years, the man-made forest provides a unique greenspace due in part to the boreal forest like feel produced by the succession to mature spruce and pine in many parts of the afforestation area. These species are continually expanding as their cones seed wider areas and successfully grow in. To find natural areas of spruce and pine one has to travel about 100 km NE of Saskatoon where the transition to the boreal forest zone begins.
Unfortunately, the full afforestation plan was never completed and these two areas remained neglected until Saskatoon’s rapid growth spurt began in 2008. The area where these parks exist is now part of a larger sector plan still in the works.
The Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas (Friends) , a non-profit charity, was established to advocate for the protection and enhancement of these laboratories of ecological succession with their unique biodiversity.
A 100 k grant from the Department of the Environment (“Environment and Climate Change Canada” or “ECCC”) is allowing the Friends to install protective barriers in areas where illegal vehicle entry has occurred and also to place signage. The Friends are also promoting educational environmental protection, climate action and wellness nature-based activities in these greenspaces.
Two heritage documentaries are being produced which will have an international reach. The first will celebrate the extraordinary humanitarian legacy of the forester Richard St. Barbe Baker, who has been called the first global conservationist. His lifelong work to protect forests, including the Redwood forests in California, and promote tree planting for habitat restoration, including research for and promotion of plans to reclaim the Sahara Desert is legendary. He had a deep understanding of forest ecology and was a climate change activist beginning in the 1930s. He was bestowed an honorary Doctorate of Laws at the University of Saskatchewan in 1971 by John Diefenbaker. The International Tree Foundation inaugurated by Baker in 1922 is commemorating its centenary in 2022.
The second heritage documentary film is focused on the 50th anniversary of the original planting (1972-2022) and the visionary ideals of the City of Saskatoon in initiating this project. During this era of climate change, it is valuable to highlight the paramount importance of nature based solutions to climate change, such as afforestation.
Hoar frost at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada
These films and associated celebrations will draw public attention to these local semi-wilderness habitats which are still relatively unknown. Public awareness about Saskatoon’s man-made forest is especially important at this moment when extensive discussions are taking place to make decisions on the management of parks and ecosystems in Saskatoon. These forests tie in well with Saskatoon’s strategic goals of environmental leadership and quality of life.
Please Come to the Wildwoods of Saskatoon.
The 326 acre Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in the City of Saskatoon at GPS 52.1006191,-106.753599 [off of Cedar Villa Road – Tsp Rd 362A]
Wildlife Montage in the afforestation areas. Red Winged Blackbird, White Tailed Deer Fawn, Garter Snake, JackRabbit, Mallard Ducklings, Black Crowned Night Heron
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
A bit of fog and hoar frost in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Snowfall Saturday September 22 2018 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, SK, CA
“The advantages of treedom are both manifold and manifest. Big plants can metabolize more effectively because they command so much earth and sky; and they can produce literally tons of seeds, to be scattered far and side….Then again, trees cannot grow where it’s too dry or the soil is too thin, and so they leave scope for many smaller plants that can. So the world’s grasslands are vast too, like..the prairies of temperate North America. …Trees are classic keystone species: simply by existing and doing their thing, they create niches where other creatures can live.” ~Tudge, Colin. Page xv
“Tender young seedlings are easily consumed by browsing mammals. Hostile fungi are a constant menace, waiting to exploit a wound, or a weakness, and begin devouring a tree’s flesh. Simard’s research indicates that mother trees are a vital defense against many of these threats; when the biggest, oldest trees are cut down in a forest, the survival rate of younger trees is substantially diminished.” Suzanne Simard, a professor of forest ecology, University of British Columbia in Vancouver
Bibliography.
Read more Tudge, Colin. The Tree. A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter. Crown Publishers. New York. ISBN 13:978-1-4000-5036-9 ISBN 10:1-4000-5036-7 2006.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger
“The science of forestry arose from the recognition of a universal need. It embodies the spirit of service to mankind in attempting to provide a means of supplying forever a necessity of life and, in addition, ministering to man’s aesthetic tastes and recreational interests. Besides, the spiritual side of human nature needs the refreshing inspiration which comes from trees and woodlands. If a nation saves its trees, the trees will save the nation. And nations as well as tribes may be brought together in this great movement, based on the ideal of beautifying the world by the cultivation of one of God’s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.
A short tutorial about starting your very own Milkweed Monarch Butterfly Garden
OR
How to have a successful Monarch pollinator Milkweed Patch.
Milkweed with Monarch Buttefly (Danaus plexippus)
Milkweeds are herbaceous perennials which grow about 1 meter (three feet) tall. The plants will bloom with clustered flowers over the summer growing season. Nature Saskatchewan says that five species of milkweed grow in Saskatchewan.
Low milkweed, (early milkweed, dwarf milkweed or oval-leafed milkweed) Asclepias ovalifolia grow 20 to 50 cm high ( to 20 inches), in sandy soil are common in moist mixed grasslands and along the edges of Aspen parklands and will tolerate sun and partial shade. Dwarf Milkweed blooms between May and June with a white, creamy color flower head.
Showy milkweed, Asclepias Speciosa found in mixed grasslands, with pink and white fragrant flower globular umbels. These plants grow to about 90 cm (35 inches)in height and feature large leaves. The plant is rhizomatous meaning that the roots send out shoots from the nodes creating colonies of these plants.
Silky milkweed, (common milkweed, tropical milkweed, blood flower, cotton bush, garden silkweed, redhead or Golden Butterflyweed) Asclepias curassavica a provincially rare plant reaching up to .6 to 1 m (2 to 3 ft) in height. The flower is purple or red corollas with yellow or orange corona lobes. This is a unique flower which blooms throughout the season June to October. This Milkweed is grown as an annual, and can be brought inside and used as an indoor house plant with bright lighting over the colder winter months. This plant is native to South America, grows in mixed grasslands and must be started indoors.
Whorled milkweed, (eastern whorled milkweed, horsetail milkweed) Asclepias verticillata another provincially rare plant that grows in mixed grasslands producing small greenish white flowers on an umbrel on the end of the plant stems. The leaves are linear and not broad, the plant thrives in dry soil, or clay/stony soil. The plant is very rare in Saskatchewan and when located it is most commonly found on hillsides in its native setting.
Green milkweed, (Green antelopehorn) Asclepias viridis, Asclepias viridis Walter,Asclepias viridiflora reaches a height of 20 – 60 centimeters (8 – 24 inches), however has been listed at 120 cm (47 inches). The numerous small flowers are pale green or a greenish yellow (and sometimes purple) clustered in round umbels (globes) at the top of the stem around June and July. Leaves are unique, being very thick, wavy and waxy. These plants enjoy dry hillsides, and a sandy soil in mixed grassland areas.
Buy your seeds from a nursery or department store, but check if the seeds have been pre-treated with an insecticide. An insecticide, will kill the butterfly caterpillar, defeating the purpose of planting the Milkweed plants. However, just planting the seeds in the soil, will not necessarily guarantee a crop of milkweed plants. And, furthermore, if you want larger plants to pop into your city lot garden, which the butterflies can use this season, it may be best to start them indoors this winter. The best time to start is now between the middle of January, and the middle of February, as the seeds, should be vernalized – subjected to cold by placing them into the refrigerator for 3-6 weeks set onto a moist paper towel, and protected in a plastic bag or plastic container. Wet the paper towel with non-chlorinated water if at all possible. “Cold stratification” can also be done by placing peat or a peat/clay mix into a planting pot or growing tray, and moistening this substrate before planting your seeds under about 0.6 cm (1/4 inch) of soil. Then pop this planting pot into the refrigerator or in a dark place hovering at a temperature around 5°C (41 degrees Fahrenheit) for 3-6 weeks but no longer than about 3 months. This stratification process will ensure a higher germination rate for your seeds. To naturally stratify your seeds, plant them outdoors in the autumn.
Common or Golden Butterflyweed Asclepias curassavica
Timing the cold incubation period, would result in removing them from the cold temperature 6 weeks before the last frost date. In Saskatchewan, gardeners look to the last week of May to be frost free on average. So this means that the 3 week to 3 month cold period should end by the middle of March to the middle of April, so your seeds should be prepared in the fridge about middle January to the middle of February.
After your seeds come out of the fridge, then they should be soaked in cool non-chlorinated water for about 6 hours ~ a process referred to as “shocking” seeds. Then plant the seeds under 0.3 to 0.6 cm (1/8 to 1/4 inches) of soil, which is light, and drains well. These plants send out long tap-roots, so use a deep pot to accomodate your plant. However just use a light scattering of soil over the seed, as the seed needs light and warmth to begin their germination. A warm sunny window providing a warm ambient temperature of about 21 Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) will do nicely for an indoor green house setting, and remember to mist the soil to aid germination or cover the seed flats with a plastic cover to keep the soil from drying out. The seeds may not emerge for two to three weeks. Once your plants have emerged water the plants in the tray below the planting pot.
Take care to not get the soil too wet which would encourage mould and mildew “damping off” which will kill your seedlings. Thin out your seedlings will also help prevent damping off. Thinning the plants will also prevent weaker plants, and another hint is to set a small oscillating fan on your seed tray to encourage a stronger plant stem. Wait until there are four true leaves on the Milkweed plant seedlings, which will mean they are about 3 to 6 inches in height before moving the plants into your garden. When you transplant the Milkweed, look for a site in your city yard, which mimics their naturalized area in full sunlight. Give this some thought, as if there is no milkweed, there are no Monarchs. Most Asclepias species thrive in disturbed areas, which means along side a roadway, bike path, railway track, highway meridian, cultivated garden or beside park or vacant land. Hoe the land area when it is dry to make it smooth and lump free. Before inserting your new plants, wet the hole made in the ground which will receive the new seedlings, the moisture will help draw the tap root down into the soil with adequate moisture and help them get established. Another consideration in your choice of area is that a few of the 160 species of Milkweed plant contain a toxic substance, and it has been found that farm animals such as sheep, cattle, or horses may be affected if they eat a very large quantity of milkweed. So for your domestic use, do not buy the Whorled Milkweed, as it is the toxic variety. It is interesting to note that a Milkweed species in Africa is used as an herbal medicine, and in some countries as a food if boiled over and over again with a change of water. As with most poisonous plants, they are bitter, and animals such as your pets or livestock will avoid them if they free range. Farmers and ranchers have the worst experience if the Milkweed gets into the feed or if the livestock eat contaminated hay. It is wise to note that the broad leaf varieties have less toxicity than the narrow leaved (whorled) species. The city is an ideal location, as the Milkweed is not popular among farmers and ranchers as cows are not affected by the urban Milkweed garden. If collecting Milkweed stems to propagate the Milkweed by cutting, remember to wear gloves as it is the milky sap in the Milkweed stem which where the highest amounts of toxins.
Fencing off the area around the butterfly garden protects the seedlings from the wayward Jackrabbit hopping buy, or from the Milkweed being trampled underfoot. Once your Milkweed plant is established in the garden it become drought tolerant, much more so than the seedling which will need a green thumb. Try to establish a minimum of six Milkweed plants so that the caterpillars can be sustained. Do not panic, if your Milkweed plants lose their leaves from the shock of transplanting, they will likely recover.
Common or Golden Butterflyweed Asclepias curassavica
To keep the ground around your Milkweed moist, use mulch around the stem, and keep the soil moist but do not over-water. The mulch will also prevent competition from weeds around your Milkweed butterfly garden. The plants will grow about 3 feet high, and should be spaced one to two feet apart, and no closer than 6 inches. Check your seed packet for further information. Fertilize the butterfly garden two to three times over the course of the growing season, or apply a time-release fertilizer.
The Monarch butterfly caterpillar will not be able to eat the Milkweed plant, until it has stalks, and leaves enough to eat, about 2 months after germination. To protect your plant in the garden from pests use only garlic or neem oil as a pesticide or spray with water containing ordinary dish detergent to take care of any aphid infestation. Import ladybugs to your butterfly garden to also milk your aphids.
Trim your plants after they grow to a height of 8-12 inches, to create a bushier plant with more leaves and stems for the caterpillars. So this means after about one month of growing, pinch the top of the stem which will force the plant to begin a new stem of growth. Once your plant is in your garden, and found by a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar, the plant will supply one caterpillar with more than 20 leaves so it can mature. To ensure that your plant is sturdy for the next year, cut the milkweed back about four inches above the soil, (above where the leaves come out), so it will return fuller and bushier next year. Try to plant a variety of Milkweed species as a back up, for your Monarch butterfly caterpillars, in case one species is slower growing when the Monarchs arrive. The Monarch butterfly will be able to detect your butterfly garden from 32 kilometers (20 miles) away via the smell of the plant. Buying a Milkweed species particular to Saskatchewan will enable it to survive the harshest of winters. If you are able to get a lush and vibrant butterfly garden of Milkweed established, you can purchase Monarch butterfly eggs or chrysalis to introduce the Monarch to your community neighbourhood.
So, educate yourself, consider your butterfly garden site carefully, and with a bit of knowledge, your newly found green thumb could go a long ways to saving Monarch Butterflies. The successful creation of a butterfly or pollinator garden may attract other butterflies, or perhaps even a hummingbird or two along the way.
We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.
Mardon Skipper (Polites mardon) interdependent upon Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca)
“Every prairie flower and shrub has special insect species that depends on it for the food
plant.”The Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan, Inc.
The Monarch butterfly owes its existence to the presence of the Milkweed.
The Mardon Skipper (Polites mardon) butterfly owes its existence to the Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca).
The Mardon Moth is interdependant upon the Soapweed (Yucca glauca) a species at risk. The the Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth and the Strecker’s Giant Skipper also rely on the Soapweed.
The Mormon Metalmark butterfly prairie population is a species at risk dependent upon the buckwheat host plant.
The Amblyscirtes simius, the simius roadside skipper, larvae feed on blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis). The adults butterfly rely on flower nectar, including Penstemon, Cirsium and Verbena.
Small Checkered-Skipper butterfly caterpillar relies upon the prairie flowers; Alkali mallow (Sida hederacea), scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea), and desert globemallow (S. ambigua); all of the mallow family (Malvaceae).
The interdependence of these butterflies upon their environment is as crucial as the Milkweed is to the Monarch Butterfly, and as Richard St. Barbe Baker explains, there is an acute interdependence which exists between the tree, nay the global forest and the survial of man.
Species at risk: Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo) butterfly depends on buckwheat host plant.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Alberta Native Plant Council. Rare Vascular Plants of Alberta. Editor Linda Kershaw. Edition illustrated. Publisher University of Alberta, 2001. ISBN 0888643195, 9780888643193.
Monarch Lab » Biology & Research » Monarch Rearing » Finding, Collecting, and Growing Milkweed
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology. University of Minnesota.
“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” ~ Will Rogers
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SW 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
Our task must be to free ourselves … by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.~Albert Einstein
“This generation may either be the last to exist in any semblance of a civilised world or that it will be the first to have the vision, the bearing and the greatness to say, ‘I will have nothing to do with this destruction of life, I will play no part in this devastation of the land, I am determined to live and work for peaceful construction for I am morally responsible for the world of today and the generations of tomorrow.’” ~ Richard St Barbe Baker
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
He that planteth a tree is a servant of God;
He provideth a kindness for many generations
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, south west sector, in the City of Saskatoon, SK, CA
Traveling west along Valley Road Picture of north turnoff onto Township Road 362A which is also named the Cedar Villa Road. Granting access to the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and South West Off Leash Recreation Area. Saskatoon, Sk, CA
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK, CA
Last night Autumn arrived. Felt in the wind. Some little change in the air. O’er trail and track, the air, comes e’er cool. The breeze, ’tis changing, how to describe the change in the air. How does one welcome Autumn? Of all the seasons, Autumn announces the change of time with more presence that the rest. The call of the geese will mix with the wind breathing through the poplar. Cooler, ever cooler that’s the way the Autumn comes. Remember now, the hidden signs before the leaf turns gold. Look all around, summer’s going to sleep, the warmth falls from the air. No need to open almanac, nor seek the solstice ‘our, just feel the change, the sounds of air. The hungry winds seeking russet leaf. ‘Tis soon the theatre of the season, the forest to begin their ritual. The wandering wind blows away our sighs. The serene ir moves o’er the world. Moves man and beast, moves tree and forest. And so again, the story begins. On the edge of summer time. Autumn arrived quietly last night.
“First it was the seedlings…Then it was a smooth bark beech: ‘That was my Madonna of the woods, my mother confessor.’ Then it was the giant redwoods of California. And most recently it was a cedar of Labanon.”
Baker would oft recite the poetry of trees;
O dreamy, gloomy, friendly Trees,
I came along your narrow track
To bring my gifts unto your knees
And gifts did you give back;
For when I brought this heart that burns–
These thoughts that bitterly repine–
And laid them here among the ferns
And the hum of boughs divine,
Ye, vastest breathers of the air,
Shook down with slow and mighty poise
Your coolness on the human care,
Your wonder on its toys,
Your greenness on the heart’s despair,
Your darkness on its noise.
Frederic Herbert Trench (12 November 1865 – 11 June 1923)
“The aim … is briefly ‘ to develop a tree sense in every citizen, and to encourage all to plant, protect and love their native trees; for forestry is among the oldest and most honourable of the peaceful arts of men, and in its practice is unselfish and constructive service.’ ”
“In the words of Henry van Dyke, (10 November 1852 – 10 April 1933) America’s greatest tree poet, whom ’twas often quoted by St. Barbe.
The Friendly Trees.
He that planteth a tree is a servant of God;
He provideth a kindness for many generations
And faces that he hath not seen shall bless him.”
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063 Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Should you wish to help protect / enhance the afforestation areas, please contact the City of Saskatoon, Corporate Revenue Division, 222 3rd Ave N, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0J5…to support the afforestation area with your donation please state that your donation should go towards the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, or the George Genereux Urban Regional Park, or both afforestation areas located in the Blairmore Sector. Please and thank you! Your donation is greatly appreciated.
“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger
“The science of forestry arose from the recognition of a universal need. It embodies the spirit of service to mankind in attempting to provide a means of supplying forever a necessity of life and, in addition, ministering to man’s aesthetic tastes and recreational interests. Besides, the spiritual side of human nature needs the refreshing inspiration which comes from trees and woodlands. If a nation saves its trees, the trees will save the nation. And nations as well as tribes may be brought together in this great movement, based on the ideal of beautifying the world by the cultivation of one of God’s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 