Wangari Maathai: a very inspirational naturalist

Hi Everyone!

Today we have another inspirational naturalist! We haven't done one of these in a little while and this time it's Wangari Matthai! I first heard about her in a magazine so I'm really excited to write this post about her. I would also love to know if any of you have heard of her because I did an eco day at school and I was the only one in my class who knew who she was!

Wangari was born in Kenya in 1940. It was at this point still a British colony. She grew up helping her mother and learning to cultivate the land. She became more and more fascinated and interested in nature. But like the majority of girls in Kenya at this time, she didn't go to school. Her mother realised that this was unfair as her brothers and cousins all went to school. Wangari just wanted to learn. She wanted to know everything and at 18 she was selected to study in the US. This was a huge opportunity for someone from a small community driven village in rural Kenya.

In 1959, she went to New York and found it very overwhelming- it was so different to her home! But she was met with the racism that was so present in American society during this period. Finally, in 1964, Wangari got her degree in biology and returned to Kenya, now an independent country.

But getting used to Kenya was a shock, especially when so much had changed. Wangari was outraged when she discovered that friends of the president were cutting down a forest to build luxury apartments. They sold the wood and planted crops which would make them money. But Wangari realised that this would not only mean no habitat for the birds but also no more shade to shelter the locals from the extreme heat and worst of all: no food because the land dried out so no crops grew. The roots protected the river banks and ensured that the land could be relied upon for food.

Wangari was determined to change something. So in 1977 she set up the Green Belt Movement. She gathered together women from the area and they set up a nursery and once the shoots had grown a bit, they transferred them to the land around them. They convinced women from other villages to join in too.

But this angered the government and at the movement's next meeting they were told it was not allowed and that they couldn't meet up without permission.

Back at Wangari's house, a man comes in to tell them that the president is going to build a new tower that is to become the tallest tower in Africa in a park locally. Wangari knew that the park gave oxygen to the whole town and even with the threat of prison, Wangari knew she couldn't not speak out. So they protested in the park. They sang and danced, they had banners and signs but it wasn't enough and the president was adamant that it wouldn't change anything.

Wangari and the Green Belt Movement insisted and didn't give up until finally the project was abandoned.

But her joy and relief was short lived as the news came that now the project had moved onto the Karura Forest, this time not only damaging the habitat but also the protection against the high desert winds. Of course she protested again.

She was interviewed for the TV and people came from all over the world to help her in her campaign. But she was on private property owned by the government and the police attacked members of the movement. From her hospital bed she continued to speak out. Eventually, the project was abandonned- Wangari had stirred it up too much.

In 2002, Wangari was elected as the representative for her area. Then in 2004, she received the Nobel Piece Prize. She was the first African woman to receive it and she said it was a victory for all Kenyans because they finally understood the importance of the forests. When asked what she wanted to do to celebrate she said 'plant a tree'. So that's what she did. It was all broadcasted on TV.

She died in 2011, aged 71. With her friends, she had planted 30 million trees in Kenya!

I think her story shows that whoever you are, you can make a difference and also clearly shows how important trees are.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangari_Maathai
https://en.unesco.org/womeninafrica/wangari-maathai/biography

Images:
Wangari Maathai, owned by s pants (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Karura Forest, Nairobi, owned by Ninara (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Comments

The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

Some info, resources & solutions to the plastic crisis

Hello Everyone, Plastic was once a miracle material but now it is the enemy. And we are the last generations who can do anything about it. If we want future generations to experience the world in all its amazing beauty like we have: we have to make a difference. We have the power to change the world for the better or for the worst. There will always be people who don't care about the environment but we do and so we need to do what we think is right. So join the campaign and fight for a better future. For our planet to return to its natural way with incredible biodiversity and amazing ecosystems. We have to make a difference now because all around the world animals are suffocating, drowning, and dying because of humans. You may think it isn't your problem but ultimately you are human and humans make plastic. Honestly, I can't believe that it has gotten to this point. We just have to change something because there is obviously something we ...

19.07.2020: Animal of the week: Honey Bees

Hi everyone, This week's animal is the honey bee. Enjoy! General Information An average honeybee hive is made up of one queen, hundreds of male drones and thousands of female workers. If the queen bee dies then a new queen is created. The workers select a young larva and feed it with a special food called ‘royal jelly’. The ‘royal jelly’ makes the larva grow into a fertile queen. Queens live for several years but the workers only live for five or six weeks. An average worker will make a twelfth of a tee spoon of honey during her entire life. Drones are turned out of the hive and left to die in Autumn. In the summer months, the queen bee is very busy, she can lay up to 2500 eggs in a single day. How they affect the world around them Honey bees are very important for flowers, fruit and vegetables. This comes from the fact that they are pollinators. They help the plants by transferring pollen between male and female parts, meaning the plants can g...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

November Top Tips | sustainable activities and hobbies

Hello everyone, So this week, we are going to be talking about sustainable free time activities. This area can quite big when it comes to environmental impact, so here are some things that you can do in your free time, that are more sustainable. 1. Reading So reading is one of our favourite things to do. However, books are made of paper and the paper industry isn't great. Some ways you can get around this is by reading online (for example, on a kindle), or through borrowing books from a library or using book boxes. If there aren't any in your area then at least try to support independent bookshops! 2. Running If you love being active then this one is for you. Running is probably one of the most sustainable forms of sport. All you need are some running shoes and somewhere to run. There is obviously more high-tech gear but that isn't really necessary if it's just a hobby. 3. Gardening If you've got a small area of land o...

06.12.2020 Animal of the week: Cheetah

Hello everyone, this week's post is all about cheetahs. These incredible big cats are known for their speed, but what else? Habitat and loss of it Cheetahs live and hunt in the grasslands and bushy areas of Africa and the Middle East. Once, they could be found all across Africa and Asia, now they are heading towards extinction. The loss of their natural habitats and the decline in their prey is the reason behind this massive decline. Hunting and Diet Cheetahs have excellent eyesight, which they use to spot prey during the day. They then creep up on their prey, camouflaged in the grass. Suddenly they dash for their prey. They are the fastest land animals in the world, reaching speeds of about 60 to 70 miles an hour (97 to 113 kilometres an hour). However they can only run this fast for about 15 seconds before they overheat. After that they have to catch their breath for half an hour before they can eat anything. They use this method to...

How well do you know the ocean floor? - Quiz

Hi Everyone and welcome back to Green World! Today we have another quiz to test your knowledge about the natural world. This is, of course, part of our monthly series of quizzes, so please give us some feedback on how you are finding it so far in the comments! This time, it's all about the ocean floor. Questions How much percent of the earth's surface consists of ocean floor? a)50% b) 60% c) 70% True or False? Just like on dry land, the ocean floor has mountains, plains and valleys. Which ocean can the Mariana Trench be found? a) Pacific Ocean b) Altantic Ocean c) Indian Ocean True or False? The Mariana Trench is 11km deep. How much of the earth's surface is covered by abyssal plains? a) about 33% b) about 50% c) about 10% True or False? Studies estimated that 90% of deep sea species haven't been discovered yet? Tr...

Animals 16-20 in our '50 incredible animals series'

Hello and welcome to another 50 incredible animals post where we are sharing 5 more animals that you (hopefully) haven't heard of or know much about! Enjoy! 16. Mantis shrimp Mantis shrimp are colourful but deadly sea-dwelling creatures that live in tropical and sub-tropical seas in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They may look pretty however, they have a surprisingly strong punch. They can punch up 50 miles per hour with a force of over 1 500 newtons. That's enough to go destroy crab shells and punch their way straight through the glass of an aquarium. The punch is as fast as a bullet and is 2 500 times the force of the animal's on weight. If humans could do that, we would be able to punch through steel! Also mantis shrimp are thought to have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom! All in all, mantis shrimp are pretty incredible animals! 17. Clownfish Clownfish are one example for the amazing corporations in the natur...

New Year's Eve 2020 Challenge!!!

Challenge New Year's Eve is only a week away now. Hundreds of people set goals for the coming year on New Year's Eve. We would like you to set some goals that are about the environment. For instance cut down on how much meat you eat or use less plastic. You can chose the easy, the normal or the hard challenge. Easy Challenge For the easy challenge you only need to set one environmental goal. Normal Challenge To complete the normal challenge you will need to set three environmental goals. Hard Challenge This one is for people who are willing to give things up for the environment. To do the hard challenge you must set five environmental goals. Completion Date 31.12. (New Year's Eve) You have one week. Other info Tell us about your goals We would love you to tell us about your goals. If you wish to share them with us: just write them in a comment. Tips Don't set goals that you know you won't be able to complete. Just...

Green World

Search This Blog