In 1977, Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, a movement focused on healing deforested areas and empowering women by teaching them how to plant trees. Here, you will learn how the original program not only helped break unsustainable cycles caused by colonial legacies and improved the environment, but empowered communities to address the root causes of the environmental degradation: injustice and political corruption. The Green Belt Movement is a valuable example not only of the environmental problems that come from injustice and negative externalities, but how community organization and empowerment can echo across scales and transform systems. Using the lens of environmental justice, we add a key piece to the puzzle of how to create a sustainable future.
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