John
United Nations Environmental Program’s Goodwill Ambassador
Educational Non-Profit Founder
Travels from: Wisconsin

“It’s remarkably insightful, poetic, and inspiring story, one that’s sure to make readers think more carefully about their own styles of living.” — Booklist

John Francis was in his twenties when a 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay jarred his comfortable life. Even as he joined the volunteers who scrubbed the beaches and fought to save birds and sea creatures poisoned by petroleum, he felt the need to make a deeper, more personal commitment. As an affirmation of his responsibility to our planet, he chose to stop using motorized vehicles and began walking wherever he went. His decision was greeted with surprise, disbelief, and even mockery – but it was only the start of a much deeper transformation. A few months later he took a vow of silence that would last seventeen years. During that time, he founded Planetwalk a non-profit environmental awareness organization, received a B.S. degree from Southern Oregon State College, a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana-Missoula, and a PhD in Land Resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ending his silence, John served as project manager for the United States Coast Guard Oil Pollution Act Staff of 1990, in Washington, DC, where he assisted in writing oil spill regulations. For this work, he received the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Public Service Commendation.

In 1991, for his work in raising environmental consciousness, John Francis known the world over as the Planetwalker, was appointed the United Nations Environment Program’s Goodwill Ambassador to the World’s Grassroots Communities. Along with six fellow Ambassadors who use their time, talents and energy to: Raise awareness of central environmental issues and work of UNEP, as well as developing their own projects in areas of environmental education.

Today, Dr. Francis is visiting associate professor at the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is teaching both graduated and undergraduate seminars in environmental studies. He is also the first education fellow at the National Geographic Society where he has published two books, Planetwalker: 17 Years of Silence, 22 Years of Walking, and The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World. They are partners in developing the Planetlines curriculum based on John’s walking experience that lasted over two decades.

Human Kindness: True Stories of Compassion and Generosity that Changed the World

What on Earth Books |
Children’s

Join the Planetwalker, John Francis, on an exploration of kindness, great and small. From the kindness John has experienced in his own life to the history of how kindness has helped to shape our laws, morals and communities from around the world.

Over the whole history of humankind, kindness has been key to the survival of our species, and to making our world a better place. Learn about Harriet Tubman, who risked her life to help others escape from slavery, the Nomads Clinic, which sends doctors trekking into the Himalayas to tend to patients, The Linda Lindas, a group of young musicians who use their talent to speak up for the rights of others, Joshua Coombes, a hairdresser who gives free haircuts to the homeless, and many others. The joyous and awe-inspiring stories in this book will encourage young readers to be kind to others. And being kind, even in small ways, turns out to be healthy for you, yet another reason to practice kindness every day. It’s our planet to share together—let’s be kind.

Planetwalker: More Than 100 Recipes and Foolproof Strategies to Help Your Kids Fall in Love

National Geographic |
Non-Fiction/Memoir

When the struggle to save oil-soaked birds and restore blackened beaches left him feeling frustrated and helpless, John Francis decided to take a more fundamental and personal stand—he stopped using all forms of motorized transportation. Soon after embarking on this quest that would span two decades and two continents, the young man took a vow of silence that endured for 17 years. It began as a silent environmental protest, but as a young African-American man, walking across the country in the early 1970s, his idea of “the environment” expanded beyond concern about pollution and loss of habitat to include how we humans treat each other and how we can better communicate and work together to benefit the earth.

Through his silence and walking, he learned to listen, and along the way, earned college and graduate degrees in science and environmental studies. The United Nations appointed him goodwill ambassador to the world’s grassroots communities and the U.S. government recruited him to help address the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Was he crazy? How did he live and earn all those degrees without talking? An amazing human-interest story, with a vital message, Planetwalker is also a deeply personal and engaging coming-of-age odyssey—the positive experiences, the challenging times, the characters encountered, and the learning gained along the way.

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Selected for The Children’s Book Council’s Hot off the Press List: September 2022

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