Activity

Learn about Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist, social activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, and explore how her Green Belt Movement empowered communities to plant millions of trees.

Prep work

• [ ] Print the The Seeds of Change: Planting the Path to Peace book discussion guide [HERE].
• [ ] Optional: Choose one or more of the following picture book biographies to read:
  • The Seeds of Change: Planting the Path to Peace by Jen Johnson
  • Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeannette Winter
  • Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli
  • Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prévot
  • Dr. Wangari Maathai Plants a Forest by Rebel Girls
• Locate Kenya on a map. Explore the country’s geography using Google Earth. Where can you find forested regions?

Lesson

• Watch: Wangari Maathai: the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Who Planted Trees.
• Read The Seeds of Change (or another selected biography).
• Use the discussion guide to facilitate your discussion of Wangari Maathai.
• Discuss: What challenges did Wangari face?
• Learn more about Wangari Maathai and her Green Belt Movement [HERE].
• Students may wish to complete 1-2 suggested activities from the book discussion guide.

Learning Extensions

• Creative Arts: Complete a notebooking page about Wangari Maathai. You may wish to include key biographical facts, the purpose of the Green Belt Movement, why planting trees mattered, a meaningful quote, and an illustration.
• Science: Research one native tree species in Kenya or your local area. Draw and label its parts and explain its importance.
• Service Project: Create a simple plan for improving your local environment (planting flowers, reducing waste, conserving water).

Supplemental Resources

Bookmarks