In Memoriam: Wangari Maathai

“Every person who has ever achieved anything has been knocked down many times. But all of them picked themselves up and kept going, and that is what I have always tried to do.”


“You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.” ~ Wangari Maathai

Wangari Muta Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was a Kenyan environmental and political activist, and a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace." Prof. Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977, working with women to improve their livelihoods by increasing their access to resources like firewood for cooking and clean water. She became a great advocate for better management of natural resources and for sustainability, equity, and justice.