“Plant trees,” she said.

     In the current issue of Woodlands & Prairies we pay tribute to the late Wangari Maathai, the environmental activist and humanitarian who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.  Ms. Maathai died of cancer in September of this year.   She was the one who, in the early ‘70s, suggested to a group of rural women in Kenya that they plant trees.  The simple act of planting fruit and other trees had far-reaching results.  It provided the women a source of nutritious food, wood for cooking, fodder for livestock, and cleaner water as the roots stabilized the soil. That was the beginning of the Green Belt Movement founded by Ms. Maathai in 1977.  It led to the planting of more than 40 million trees in Kenya alone and many millions more as the basis of a worldwide environmental movement.  www.greenbeltmovement.org   

 
<><>

Drawing: John Mundt

     It’s interesting how the tree planting by the Kenyan women not only benefitted the environment, it also changed their lives.  Improved access to food, fuel, fodder, and clean water empowered the women economically and politically.  Doing good for the environment rewards the caregivers in many ways.

 

     In the post below, we explore some of those ways. 

New life for the land and for the stewards

       The oak savanna famously restored by Sibylla and Bill Brown brims with life, from the microbes in the soil to the profusion of flora and fauna on the forest floor. The savanna has also given the Browns a new lease on life in their retirement years.  Sibylla Brown radiates the vitality of the ecosystems she cares for as she joyfully shares her story with a steady stream of visitors. She also reaches out through her blog: www.timberhilloaksavanna.com  “Our lives have true substance,” Sibylla told me.  “We’re actually accomplishing something.”

                                        Sibylla Brown: Sharing the joy of a restored savanna.

  

     I see this same spirit in the faces and voices of the many people I’ve interviewed over the years about their work on the land.  Of course, nature has stirred the soul of man since time immemorial. The people featured in the pages of this magazine are no different.  But what is different, I like to think, is that these people are at the grassroots of the ecological restoration movement. They roll up their sleeves and get the job done. It may not be the magic that draws them to their tasks. God knows, it’s hard work.  But then the magic happens, and lives change. 

   
      The story about the Browns and their Timberhill Oak Savanna in southern Iowa appears in the fall issue of Woodlands & Prairies.