Seven Little Trees

On June 5, 1977, World Environment Day, seven young seedlings were planted in Nairobi, Kenya.

Seven trees, no more. It was the first act of a movement launched by Wangari Maathai.

Wangari Maathai was born in 1940 in Nyeri, a rural area of Kenya. In 1971, she earned a doctorate from the University of Nairobi. She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate.

In 1976, she sat on the National Council of Women of Kenya. There, she proposed a simple idea: planting trees, together, in communities.

Deforestation was threatening the livelihoods of farming families. Planting trees would fight erosion, provide firewood and protect watersheds. It would also help families eat better, and give women work.

In 1977, the Green Belt Movement was born. Women received seedlings and training. They grew seedlings and planted trees, for a small amount of money in return.

Soon, the trees lined up in long rows. These were the "green belts."

In the 1980s, more than 600 tree nurseries were set up, with 2,500 to 3,000 women. The movement then spread to other African countries.

Today, according to the Goldman Environmental Prize, it has planted more than 51 million trees. It has established more than 5,000 nurseries. Hundreds of thousands of women have taken part.

Big change often begins with a small act repeated, together.

Wangari Maathai did not stop at trees. For almost twenty years, she fought to protect Karura Forest. In 2002, she was elected to Kenya's parliament, then appointed Assistant Minister of Environment.

In 2004, she received the Nobel Peace Prize, for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. She was the first African woman to receive it.

She died on September 25, 2011, at 71. The trees keep growing.

The work is never finished. A tree that is planted still has to be watered, protected, cared for. And every community can carry the torch.

The Nobel Committee summed up her way of working in one sentence:

No one plants a forest alone. But together, seven little trees can become millions.