Wangari Maathai

By Kalleigh Johnson

About Wangari Maathai• Born April 1st, 1940 in Tetu, Kenya• She died September 25th, 2011 from a battle cancer• Was widely known as a politician and environmental

activist• She was the first Kenya women to get a P.H.D. • She worked within the “National Council of Women of

Kenya”• She came up with an idea of women coming together and

planting trees• When she got the idea under way went far in to other

countries including: Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe• In 2003 she had made it up to assisted minister of

Environment, Natural Resources, and Wildlife

Question:

What was Wangari Maathai role in the Green Belt Movement?

She was the founder of the Green Belt Movement!

Greening of Kenya

• Concern became because of yellow tide in the desert

• The organization planting trees across Kenya

• Since her beginning concern there are 2 million trees across

Kenya

Wanting to Help Women• 1970’s started

• Mobilized Kenya women

• Planting trees across the country

• In 2005 30 million trees were planted

• Kenyan women coming together

• Maathai got idea from a conference in Mexico

• Women having concerned in: firewood, drinking water, nutritious food, etc.

• Maathai had seen the connection between the land from growing up there

• Maathai started with the small group that grow to 2 groups

• 1,000’s tress helped bring the land back to life

• Maathai was thinking that Maathai was encouraging women

A little more history of the Green Belt Movement

• Maathai was able to see behind the everyday hardship

• Becoming the movement was a lot to do with:

disempowerment, disenfranchisement, traditional values, etc.

• Created to work to build a community

• Became a advocate for a lot of other organizations working

on bring people to work on the land

• Maathai helped a lot with people come up with “reduce,

reuse, recycle”

She won something for what she started…

Noble Peace Prize• Won the Noble Peace Prize 2004

• The reason “for her contribution to sustainable development,

democracy and peace".

• She got the peace prize for her human rights, especial women rights.

Work CitiedSweeney, Louise. "The Greening of Kenya." The Christian Science Monitor [Boston, MA] 7 Oct. 1986, Ideas sec.: 23. LexisNexis Scholastic Edition. Web. 6

May 2013. http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/scholastic/.

I choose this because it shows how Maathai began her role in The Green Belt Movement. It shows you what made her start especial the reasoning.

 

"Wangari Maathai." Interview by Amitabh Pal. The Progressive. Progressive Magazine, May 2005. Web. 6 May 2013.

http://progressive.org/wangari_maathai_interview.html.

I choose this website because it’s an actual interview with her. It’s explaining her getting into the Green Belt Movement, her peace prize, etc.

 

"Our History." The Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement, n.d. Web. 06 May 2013.

I choose this website because it shows what made her start the organization. It also tells me what Maathai was doing beforehand.

"The Nobel Peace Prize 2004". Nobelprize.org. 7 May 2013 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2004/

I choose this source because it told me about her winning the Noble Peace Prize.

"Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition." Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 07 May 2013.

http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9399808 I choose this website because it was a great resource and the information was incredible.

"The Nobel Peace Prize." The Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement, n.d. Web. 07 May 2013.

http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai/the-nobel-peace-prize. I choose this website because it showed more information of the Nobel Peace

Prize.

Picture Citation

Aiguier, Stephen. "Green Hammer." Inspiration Green Builders Oregon. Green Hammer, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 May 2013.

http://www.greenhammer.com/insight/inspiration/green-belt-movement-/

Carr-Gomm, Philip. "Wangari Maathai – God Is on This Mountain." Philip Carr-Gomm's Weblog. WordPress.com, 19 Oct. 2011. Web. 7 May 2013. http://

philipcarrgomm.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/wangari_maathai.jpg\

Merton, Lisa. Wangari Maathai Planting Trees. Digital image. Taking Root- The Vision of Wangari Maathai. Irislines.com, n.d. Web. 7 May 2013. http://

takingrootfilm.com/images/Takingroot2.jpg

Who We Are. Digital image. The Green Belt Movement. The Green Belt Movement, n.d. Web. 8 May 2013.

http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/sites/greenbeltmovement.org/files/who-we-are-banner.jpg

 

McConnico, John. The Nobel Peace Prize 2004 Wangari Maathai. Digital image. Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media, 2004. Web. 8 May 2013. http://

www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2004/maathai-photo.html

Lou. US Greens Mourn Dr. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Kenyan Green Party Founder and Leader. Digital image. Detroit Green. Green Party, 26 Sept. 2011. Web.

8 May 2013. http://www.detroitgreens.org/node/438

Good Jobs. Digital image. Rio+20 The Future We Want. United Nations, 2 May 2012. Web. 10 May 2013. http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/jobs.shtml

The Nature Conservancy in Africa. Digital image. The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy, n.d. Web. 10 May 2013. http

://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/explore/africa-green-belt-movement-slideshow.xml