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| Wangari Maathai Courtesy of dirtthemovie.org |
Amongst her many achievements in her full and busy life, Wangari founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. A movement that was truly ahead of it's times in that region and has transformed both the environment and attitudes.
A movie of Wangari's dramatic story, Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, was made in 2008 and really captures her belief that nothing is impossible.
Wangari has also appeared in a variety of other documentaries, most noteably Dirt: The Movie, where her enthusiasm and strength of character really shined through.
It was under Wangari's patronage that the United Nations established the Billion Tree Campaign. This campaign was designed to motivate and mobilise everyone from individuals to governments, in the planting of one billion trees worldwide every year. Within 5 years, over 12.5 billion had been planted.
Wangari has inspired many others to do the best that they can. An example of this is the outstanding Plant for the Planet children's initiative, which has it's origins in the school project of a 9-year old boy who was inspired by Wangari. Plant for the Planet grew into a worldwide movement, and in 2011 took over responsibility for the Billion Tree Campaign from the UN.
This is just one example of what we can achieve if we listen to our planet and follow the teachings of this amazing woman.
Wangari Maathai:
You did the best that you could and the Earth thanks you for it.
Wangari gives an account of her life's work to the RSA
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