After many years of dedicated service to Global Tree Initiative (GTI), Hans Timpner has stepped down from his roles as Global Coordinator Director and Regional Coordinator for Aruba.

While we are sad to see Hans step away from his roles within GTI, we are filled with deep gratitude for everything he has given to our community over the years.

Hans has been part of Global Tree Initiative from the very beginning. Back in 2019, when GTI was still taking its first steps, Hans joined our growing community as our Global Tree Enumerator.

In this role, Hans helped keep track of trees being planted around the world, and in this way,
Hans helped bring these stories and numbers together, allowing us to see how people everywhere were coming together through the simple and meaningful act of planting trees.

Hans later became Regional Coordinator for Aruba, and then Global Coordinator Director. For a period of time, he also co-directed GTI together with Julie Caldwell.

Javier, Julie and Hans in Italy.

Throughout all these years, Hans has given much more than his official titles might suggest.

He has been a generous donor to GTI and has quietly supported many aspects of its work behind the scenes. Hans contributed his time, experience, ideas, and practical guidance to important management decisions and has helped GTI navigate many different stages of its development.

In many ways, Hans has helped turn the vision of GTI’s founder, Tenzin Ösel Hita, into practical action.

Hans Timpner (left) with GTI Founder, Tenzin Ösel Hita, and other retreat participants

A Journey of Service with GTI

Hans brought to GTI a genuine love for people, nature, and service.

Over the years, he was much more than a coordinator or director. Hans enjoyed connecting with people, encouraging participation, visiting projects, planting trees, sharing ideas, and helping GTI grow as a global community.

A beautiful example was his journey through India in 2023, where he met many members of GTI India community and visited several tree-planting and environmental projects. From Mumbai to Pune, Satara, and Bodhgaya, Hans took the time to meet local communities, learn from their work, and plant trees together with them.

At Maitreya School in Bodhgaya, Hans helped initiate tree-planting activities with the teachers and students, donated seeds, and encouraged the school to use tree growing as an educational project for the children.

These experiences reflect something very special about Hans’ contribution to GTI: His ability to bring people together and make GTI vision practical, personal, and joyful!

A big THANK YOU

Thank you, Hans, for your guidance, generosity, time, and all the important work you have done, both publicly and behind the scenes.

Most importantly, thank you for believing in the vision of GTI’s founder, Tenzin Ösel Hita, and for helping that vision grow into a living global community.

There are many contributions that never appear on a website, in a newsletter, or in a photograph. We know that Hans has made many of these quiet contributions over the years, and we are deeply grateful for every one of them.

We would also like to extend a very special thank you to Rita, Hans’ wife. Rita has shared so much of Hans’ time with our GTI community over the years, and we are truly grateful to her. Hans is not only a valued member of our GT family, but also a husband, father, grandfather, and soon-to-be great-grandfather, and we appreciate the time he has been able to give to us.

Hans and Rita

Although Hans is stepping down from his official roles, the trees he has helped plant, the people he has connected with, the projects he has supported, and the friendships he has created will remain an important part of GTI’s story.

From everyone at Global Tree Initiative, we wish Hans, Rita, and their family many years of happiness, joy, love, good health and wonderful new adventures together.

With a very big and heartfelt THANK YOU, Hans, for everything you have given to Global Tree Initiative.