Thursday, July 23, 2009

Planting Trees - Building A Future


In my short journey of learning how to take better care of the environment, I learned of Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr Wangari Maathai. She had a vision to change the lives for Kenyans, and thus was born, "The Greenbelt Movement".

Planting trees for fuel, shade, and food is not something that anyone would imagine as the first step toward winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet with that simple act Wangari Maathai, a woman born in rural Kenya, started down the path that reclaimed her country’s land from 100 years of deforestation, provided new sources of food and income to rural communities, gave previously impoverished and powerless women a vital political role in their country, and ultimately helped to bring down Kenya's twenty-four-year dictatorship.

Shaklee Corporation has been a huge proponent of Dr Maathai. So in 2006, was birthed one of Shaklee's many environmental causes, "A Million Trees - A Million Dreams". Three years later, on Earth Day this year, she along with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger helped plant the one millionth tree at Shaklee's headquarters in Pleasanton, California.

I am so looking forward to seeing the documentary, Taking Root; The Vision of Wangari Maathai. She is more than inspirational !