I've been getting thoughtful again, rereading and re-reading again the literary works of the late
environmentalist and human rights activist Wangari Maathai.
Have you read any of her books? Some of her most well known titles are:
Unbowed: A Memoir
The Challenge for Africa
Replenishing the Earth
I continue to be humbled...literally to the ground when I spend any significant amount of time studying the writings of this legendary figure.
Her good will towards mankind seemed to know no bounds. Her willingness of sacrifice and
give up a life of leisure indicated her commitment to protecting the environment and helping bring empowerment to impoverished women across the world, starting in her own native country of Kenya.
One of Wangari's statements was her aim to have one tree planted in Kenya for each person of the population....hence the mission statement arose from her writings: One Person One Tree.
I believe it is not an impossible mission, but rather something that is quite practical and do-able.
I live in Canada. I love my Country and all of it's incredible natural resources. We pride ourselves here in Ontario, in the many green belts of prime agricultural land that lies across our province. We savor the ripe fruits and local vegetables that grace our tables.
However, the idea of planting just one tree to represent our existence in this land of plenty is a nouveau thought.
It will take some effort to accomplish this task. If you are a landowner then it will not be too difficult to accomplish this goal. Simply find out from your municipality where you are allowed to dig and plant trees, so as to avoid hitting any buried gas or other utilities underground. Then locate a tree nursery and buy and then plant one precious healthy seedling into healthy rich dark soil. Give the new seedling plenty of water especially for the first 30-60 days until it gets the chance to establish it's roots into it's new home of soil.
Then enjoy and watch the tree continue to grow and blossom and eventually become large enough to house a local bird family, the occasional squirrel and become shade for man and beast.
What do you think of Wangari's mission? Is One tree planted per person a possibility in your country?
Is it something that you can see yourself doing?
Looking forward to reading your comments and discussion in the section below.
Peace.
