The given excerpt from Bigelow and Swineheart’s book (Chapter 3) gives the reader an example of environmental teaching implemented in the authors’ curriculum entitled “The Climate Change Mixer”. It “introduces students to 17 individuals around the world- each of whom is affected differently by climate change (p. 92).” After reading the chapter and doing my own further research, I am most interested in learning more about Wangari Maathai. She is an environmental activist based out of Kenya. She founded the Green Belt Movement, an effort to plant a billion trees in various countries in Africa. This movement has provided jobs to many unemployed people in her home country in addition to pushing towards environmental justice. It is more than just “planting trees”; by doing so, citizens engaged in the Green Belt Movement aid against soil loss and unsustainable logging. Wangari Maathai’s story is incredibly powerful and inspiring to me. I would love to learn more about her because the work she has done (and is continuing to do!) is akin to what I wish to accomplish in the realm of environmental justice.
