History

Guernsey Trees for Life was originally called Guernsey Men of the Trees and was a branch of an international organisation of the same name. It was founded by Dr Richard St Barbe Baker, OBE, in 1924. St Barbe Baker was one of the world’s first professional foresters who travelled widely and witnessed the damage caused by large scale deforestation.

Long before it became common knowledge he realised the potential devastation humankind could cause to the planet through wholesale destruction of trees. Barbe Baker was ahead of his time and it is only in recent decades that we have cottoned on to the need to conserve and reforest the world. Whilst there has been much talk and debate on how we can achieve this, the Men of the Trees (and its international affiliate the International Tree Foundation) has been quietly getting on with the job of planting.

In 2015 the Guernsey Society of the Men of the Trees evolved into Guernsey Trees for Life, and has ambitions to develop and extend its membership to a much wider audience because we believe trees matter to us all. By increasing our membership and our funding we can go beyond the simple yet powerful act of planting trees and educate children and adults about the importance of trees and how we can care for them for future generations.

Download the Constitution and Rules of the Society here