mishelle vanessa castro rivera

Wangari Maathai: The Hummingbird and 51 Million Trees

In 1977, Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt Movement to plant trees across the dry hills of Kenya. She taught 30,000 local women to grow seeds and protect the soil in Nairobi and rural villages to earn money for their families. This work examined the link between a healthy environment and peace, eventually leading Maathai to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Even after going to prison in 1992 to save Uhuru Park, she continued her mission until her group had planted over 51 million trees.