Hugh and Paul will share stories from the life of an extraordinary pioneer of the environmentalist movement, Richard St. Barbe Baker. One hundred years ago, Baker foresaw and warned the world about the emerging environmental crisis—and offered solutions that are only now being appreciated and applied. Baker’s work as a forester and conservationist paralleled his activities as an early member of the Baha’i Faith, a faith that provided inspiration for his ceaseless efforts to conserve and restore the world’s forests.

Paul Hanley has published five books and 1600 articles on the environment, sustainable development, agriculture, and other topics. Paul’s biography, Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist (University of Regina Press 2018), features a foreword by HRH Prince Charles and introduction by Jane Goodall. A biography for middle school children, Richard St. Barbe Baker: Child of the Trees, was published in 2020.  Paul has received a number of awards, most recently the Food System 2050 Vision Prize from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Hugh Locke is president and co-founder of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA), a non-profit working with small-scale family farmers to help feed and reforest a renewed Haiti. Earlier in his career Hugh was director of the Office of Public Information at the Baha’i International Community in New York. While still a student, he was mentored by Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889 – 1982). Hugh subsequently established the Baker archives at the University of Saskatchewan and continues to serve as St. Barbe’s literary trustee.