It’s the little things citizens do that will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees. Wangari Maathai Kenya said farewell on October 8 to Nobel Prize winning environmentalist Wangari Maathai, who died after a courageous battle with cancer. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki oversaw a state funeral in the capital Nairobi. The woman who risked her life time and again to save the trees of Kenya would not allow a single tree to be cut down for the sake of a wooden coffin. Instead her body was carried from the funeral home in a casket made of hyacinth, papyrus and bamboo. Crowds lined the streets as the funeral procession made its way to Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi. It was here, in this park, where Maathai famously stood up to developers, and the government of former President Daniel Arap Moi, to prevent the construction of a 60 story skyscraper. So it was fitting that her funeral would take place in an area of the park that has been renamed Freedom Corner. Through her Green Belt movement, Maathai organized the planting of some 30 million trees throughout Kenya. Her family planted one more in her honor at the ceremony in Uhuru Park. Through the Green Belt movement her spirit lives on. The Movement provides income and sustenance to millions of people in Kenya through the planting of trees and has provided training for more than 30,000 women in forestry, food processing, bee keeping and other trades that help them earn income while preserving their lands and resources. It also conducts educational campaigns to raise awareness about women’s rights, civic empowerment, and the environment throughout Kenya and Africa. Closely affiliated is The Green Belt Movement International, which seeks to empower communities worldwide to protect the environment and to promote good governance and cultures of peace. Books by Wangari Maathai include a memoir, Unbowed, published in 2006, describing her formative years and her struggles on behalf of the environment, and the recently published Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the World, both available for borrowing through the South Suburban Library System and for purchase through book stores,( if any remain), and on line. Contemplating the achievements of Wangari Maathai and her Green Belt Movement, we are left with the question, what are the little things that we can do to “make the difference”? We can begin with our purchasing choices, saving trees by choosing products made from recycled paper, and, in turn, recycling whatever we can; by avoiding products, such as cypress mulch, made from unsustainable sources; and by paying attention to legislative assaults on forests and waterways, encouraging our elected representatives to sponsor bills designed to protect and restore, rather than exploit them. In addition, we can facilitate the planting of trees by giving them in honor of special people and occasions via organizations such as Church World Service, Heifer International and the Arbor Day Foundation. As Dr. Seuss says toward the end of his environmental fable,The Lorax, ”Unless someone like you cares a whole, awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it is not.” STAMP AND POSTCARD REMINDER: Please save commemorative and foreign stamps and picture postcards, used or new, for the Illinois Audubon Society. Stamp collections are especially prized. Since the inception of this project Illinois Audubon has raised more than $50,000 for land acquisition for its wildlife sanctuaries throughout the state. Please bring stamps and cards to our meetings or give to Kathy Bader or Mary Anne McLean, anytime, anyplace. |
| ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION REPORT Mary Anne McLean |
