Arborpedia logo

Arborpedia

An open encyclopedia for growing techniques, water harvesting, reforestation, species info, and the Green Heroes who restored ecosystems.

Green Heroes

View all

Individuals who dedicated their lives to restoring our planet.

Portrait of Abdul Kareem

Abdul Kareem

The One-Man Forest of Kerala

India · 1950–present

Indian conservationist who single-handedly grew a 32-acre forest on barren laterite land in Kerala over more than 30 years.

Portrait of Akira Miyawaki

Akira Miyawaki

Botanist & Pioneer of Rapid Reforestation

Japan · 1928–2021

Japanese botanist who developed the Miyawaki method for creating dense native forests in record time, planting over 1,700 forests across 15 countries.

Portrait of Chico Mendes

Chico Mendes

Defender of the Amazon Rainforest

Brazil · 1944–1988

Brazilian rubber tapper and union leader who organized nonviolent resistance to protect the Amazon rainforest from deforestation.

Portrait of David Milarch

David Milarch

Nurseryman & Co-Founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive

United States · 1949–present

Michigan nurseryman who pioneered techniques for cloning the world's largest and oldest trees to preserve their genetics and combat climate change.

Portrait of Felix Finkbeiner

Felix Finkbeiner

Youth Climate Activist and Founder of Plant-for-the-Planet

Germany · 1997–present

German activist who started Plant-for-the-Planet at age 9, building a youth movement that has planted billions of trees worldwide.

Portrait of Geoff Lawton

Geoff Lawton

Permaculture Consultant & Pioneer of Desert Restoration

Australia · 1954–present

Australian permaculture educator who demonstrated that even the most degraded landscapes can be transformed into productive food forests, most famously in the Jordan Valley.

Portrait of Jadav Payeng

Jadav Payeng

The Forest Man of India

India · 1959–present

Indian environmental activist who single-handedly planted a 1,360-acre forest on a barren sandbar in Assam over four decades.

Portrait of John D. Liu

John D. Liu

Filmmaker and Ecosystem Restoration Advocate

United States · 1953–present

American-Chinese filmmaker who documented the Loess Plateau restoration and founded Ecosystem Restoration Camps worldwide.

Portrait of Julia Butterfly Hill

Julia Butterfly Hill

Activist & Old-Growth Forest Defender

United States · 1974–present

American environmentalist who lived 738 days in a 1,500-year-old redwood tree named Luna to save it from being logged by Pacific Lumber Company.

Portrait of Marina Silva

Marina Silva

Champion of the Amazon and Brazilian Environmental Leader

Brazil · 1958–present

Brazilian environmentalist and politician from Acre who fought alongside Chico Mendes and became Minister of the Environment.

Portrait of Masanobu Fukuoka

Masanobu Fukuoka

Farmer, Philosopher, and Pioneer of Natural Farming

Japan · 1913–present

Japanese farmer and philosopher who developed 'do-nothing farming,' a radical method of agriculture that works with nature rather than against it, and authored the landmark book The One-Straw Revolution.

Portrait of Richard St. Barbe Baker

Richard St. Barbe Baker

Pioneer of Global Reforestation

United Kingdom · 1889–1982

British forester who founded Men of the Trees in 1922, one of the world's first international conservation organizations.

Portrait of Saalumarada Thimmakka

Saalumarada Thimmakka

The Woman Who Mothered a Forest

India · 1910–present

Indian environmentalist from Karnataka who planted and nurtured over 8,000 trees across eight decades, earning the honorary title 'Saalumarada' — row of trees.

Portrait of Sebastiao Salgado

Sebastiao Salgado

Photographer Turned Reforester

Brazil · 1944–present

Brazilian photographer who, with his wife Lelia, reforested over 1,500 acres of degraded Atlantic Forest at Instituto Terra.

Portrait of Sunderlal Bahuguna

Sunderlal Bahuguna

Environmentalist & Leader of the Chipko Movement

India · 1927–2021

Indian environmentalist who led the Chipko movement, where villagers embraced trees to prevent logging in the Himalayan forests of Uttarakhand.

Portrait of Tony Rinaudo

Tony Rinaudo

Agronomist & Developer of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration

Niger · 1957–present

Australian agronomist known as the 'Forest Maker' who developed Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration, restoring over 200 million trees across Africa.

Portrait of Vandana Shiva

Vandana Shiva

Seed Sovereignty Champion and Environmental Scholar

India · 1952–present

Indian physicist and activist who founded the Navdanya seed bank network to protect biodiversity and farmers' rights.

Portrait of Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai

Nobel Laureate & Founder of the Green Belt Movement

Kenya · 1940–2011

Kenyan environmentalist who founded the Green Belt Movement and planted over 51 million trees across Africa.

Portrait of Willie Smits

Willie Smits

Orangutan Rescuer and Rainforest Restorer

Indonesia · 1957–present

Dutch-Indonesian scientist who restored degraded Borneo rainforest through the Samboja Lestari project to save orangutans.

Portrait of Yacouba Sawadogo

Yacouba Sawadogo

The Man Who Stopped the Desert

Burkina Faso · 1946–present

Burkinabe farmer who revived ancient Zai planting techniques to reclaim Sahel desert and restore forests in Burkina Faso.