The Man Who Planted Trees

About the Author

Jean Giono, the only son of a cobbler and a laundress, was one of France’s greatest writers. His prodigious literary output includes stories, essays, poetry, plays, filmscripts, translations and over thirty novels, many of which have been translated into English. Giono, a pacifist, was twice imprisoned in France during World War II. He remained tied to Provence and Manosque, the little city where he was born in 1895 and, in 1970, died.

Michael McCurdy is one of America’s outstanding wood engravers. He has illustrated nearly 200 books for trade publications and as special fine-press editions. His prints and drawings are also shown in galleries throughout the country and at www.michaelmccurdy.com. McCurdy lives in Springfield, MA.

Wangari Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the first woman to earn a doctorate in biology in East Africa. A recipient of numerous awards for her work on environmental and social issues, she was elected to Parliament by an overwhelming majority in 2003 and is currently the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Wildlife, and Natural Resources in the new democratically elected Kenyan government. In 2004, she was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. She lives in Nairobi, Kenya.Photo by Martin Rowe.

Andy Lipkis began planting trees to rehabilitate smog and fire damaged areas when he was 15 years old. He founded TreePeople and has served as President since 1973. TreePeople has been an international guiding light for the Citizen Forestry movement. Andy's programs include airlifting bare-root fruit trees to Africa, inspiring the planting of one million trees in L.A. before the 1984 Summer Olympics, and numerous disaster relief efforts during flood and fire. A recent program is T.R.E.E.S.—Transagency Resources for Environmental and Economic Sustainability. T.R.E.E.S. demonstrates the feasibility and facilitates the implementation of integrated urban ecosystem management to increase the health and sustainability of our cities.