Hester Barres

Mystic, Connecticut — Herster Barres, an internationally renowned forestry expert who pioneered programs to combat climate change and diversify crops for small farmers, died March 7, 2024, at Yale New Haven Hospital after a short illness. He was 90. Dr. Barres founded and directed the nonprofit organization, Reforest The Tropics (RTT), which today manages more than 1480 acres of research forests on 17 farms in Costa Rica. More than 100 U.S. forest sponsors rely on over 500,000 trees planted on these farms (over the past 25 years) to offset their carbon emissions. “He single-handedly conceived of an improved reforestation model that solved many of the historical challenges to long-term forestry projects on private farms,” said Greg Powell, who took over as RTT director when Dr. Barres retired in 2019. …After graduating from Yale University and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, he earned a doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.