Botanist, conservationist, newspaperman and publicist Raymond H. Torrey delivers the first of at least two dozen talks over WNYC from 1928 to 1931. With broadcasts adapted from his newspaper columns with titles like, Rocks & Flowers for Hikers, The Winding Trail, The Long Brown Path, and Hudson Valley's Historic Shrines, Torrey called for the protection of the environment, often in opposition to the advances of industry and commerce. He was a prolific writer of letters and articles urging campers to guard against forest fires, check out new-found natural spots and preserve American's natural wonders from pollution. Under his leadership, New York hiking clubs opened and marked a stretch of the Appalachian Trail in 1924 in Palisades Park. That same year he co-authored the New York Walk Book, an illustrated handbook of hikes in the metro area.