At the suggestion of the National Parks Association of the United States and on the invitation of the National Parks Service, I was privileged, as representing your Society, to visit two of America's most beautiful national parks, Olympic and Mount Rainier. They are both situated in Washington State, known as the Evergreen State, in the north-west of the U.S.A. They consist of rain forests, colossal cedars, firs, and snowcapped mountains.

The second session of the General Assembly of the International Union for the Protection of Nature was held in the Institut de Sociologie, Leopold Park, Brussels, from 18th to 23rd October, 1950, the first having been held two years previously at Fontainebleau, immediately after the establishment of I.U.P.N. The United Kingdom was represented by Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith (Leader), Miss P. Barelay-Smith, Dr. John Berry, Captain Keith Caldwell, Mr. A. B. Duncan, Dr. F. C. Fraser, and Dr. J. Ramsbottom. Thirty-four countries and twelve international organizations were represented. The President and Secretary-General were Dr. Ch. J. Bernard and Mr. J. P. Harroy who hold corresponding offices in the Union.

There are essences in human life which defy analysis. Who can measure the influence upon the human spirit of an inspiring passage of music or of a radiant line of poetry or prose ? The inner being of man is forever something apart from utilitarian or material influences. The story of Christ going into the wilderness has been accepted through the ages not merely as a symbol but as an essential episode in the personality of an individual. “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help” is a prayer flowing naturally from the human heart that senses the oneness of the individual and the natural world.