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.

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