Authors
Wangari Maathai
1940 – 2011
Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmentalist who became the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a Ph.D. before starting the Green Belt Movement, encouraging people — especially women — to plant trees to fight deforestation and poverty. She became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her work connecting environmental protection with peace and democracy. Millions of trees have been planted across Africa because of the movement she began.
Quotes
“Trees are living symbols of peace and hope. A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky.”
“We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own”
“On their part, civil society should embrace not only their rights but also their responsibilities.”
“we must not tire, we must not give up, we must persist.”
“The challenge is to restore the home of the tadpoles and give back to our children a world of beauty and wonder.”
“I came to understand that when the environment is destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine our quality of life and that of future generations.”
“So you develop a relationship that is very sustainable because, you know, you depend on each other, you become symbiotic friends.”