Celebrating 100 Years of Community-Led Tree Planting

22nd July marked 100 years of community-led tree planting. So, to celebrate, partners, supporters and members of ITF, joined us in Oxford to mark our centenary.

How it started

In 1922, ITF, formerly known as Men of the Trees, was founded in Kenya by visionary environmentalist Richard St. Barbe Baker. By the late 1930s, there were more than 5,000 members across 108 countries.

St. Barbe was a pioneer in the field of social forestry. From Save the Redwoods to the Green Front campaigns, his work mobilised communities and inspired people across the world to take action to plant and care for trees that protect the planet and secure the future for newer generations.

And on Saturday, we celebrated 100 years of working alongside communities across the world to plant trees that protect and conserve threatened forests, improve ecosystems and transform lives.

A brilliant day

Around 50 people joined us for a garden party, where we reflected on the legacy of our founder and the impact the charity has made these last 100 years. We listened to some inspiring presentations by our partners and ITF the team.

Prof. Kate Schreckenberg during her presentation

We were delighted to have Hugh Locke, who was an assistant to St.Barbe for the last six years of his life, join us virtually for the celebrations. Hugh is the Co-Founder and President of Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) and he spoke of St. Barbe’s legacy and how St. Barbe’s work inspired many including his own environmental work with SFA, supporting smallholder farmers in Haiti.

One of ITF’s trustees, Professor. Kate Schreckenberg, shared about the importance of trees and highlighted the diverse ways they improve lives for communities, from food and firewood to mental health and income.

Lucy Stavely, founder of Nature and Nurture, shared a wonderful presentation on the Burford Tree Initiative, a project in partnership with ITF that is mobilising local community groups in Burford, West Oxfordshire, to plant native trees and hedgerows.

Our team in Kenya also shared their thoughts on working for ITF through an inspiring video.

James Whitehead, ITF’s Chief Executive, walked us through this video that shows just a few of our current tree planting and forest restoration projects across Africa, the UK and Ireland.

Cake cutting

We were honoured to have Mrs. Alicent Odipo, Immigration Attaché at the Kenya High Commission in London and Mihan Ram, founder of the Men of the Trees branch in Uruguay in attendance and for them to cut the celebration cake.

Looking ahead

100 years after we were founded in Kenya in 1922, ITF’s mission to plant, promote and protect trees remains urgent and relevant. As we look to the future, we will continue to work with communities to plant the right trees, in the right places and for the right reasons.

Thank you!

We are extremely grateful as our work is made possible through the generosity and ongoing commitment of our supporters to planting trees that benefit both people and the planet.

Together, we are planting trees that restore degraded landscapes and ensure that people at the forefront of the climate crisis have access to vital resources as well as the capacity to build sustainable livelihoods that enhance their wellbeing.