On Being with Krista Tippett Wangari Maathai — Marching with Trees
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Apr 18, 2019 
Wangari Maathai, a renowned biologist, environmentalist, and the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, discusses her early influences growing up in Kikuyu culture, which instilled in her a profound respect for nature. She highlights how planting trees became a symbol of defiance and resistance, linking environmentalism with human rights. Maathai emphasizes the importance of sustainability and gender equity, showcasing how tree-planting initiatives empower women and contribute to the healing of the planet.
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Cultural Practices Carried Ecological Wisdom
- Maathai traced her environmental sense to Kikuyu cultural practices that revered certain trees for practical land protection.
- She noted missionaries sometimes cut those sacred trees, eroding indigenous ecological knowledge.
U.S. Civil Rights Shaped Her Activism
- Wangari Maathai credits the U.S. civil rights movement for shaping her sense of justice and human rights.
- That exposure helped her later link environmental work with democracy and rights advocacy.
Seven Trees That Sparked A Movement
- Wangari Maathai began the Greenbelt Movement by planting seven trees in Nairobi, of which two survived.
- Those two trees symbolized an idea that grew into millions of trees through grassroots mobilization.
