Green belt movement

Women’s rights, good governance, civic empowerment and the environment.
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As trees grow, they give you hope and self-confidence.
You feel good, like you have transformed the landscape

Wangari Maathai
Picture
Educating children about the importance of planting trees to restore and protect water catchment areas

Green Belt Movement

Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to respond to the needs of rural Kenyan women who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and they had to walk further and further to get firewood for fuel and fencing.  The Movement empowers communities, particularly women, to conserve the environment and improve livelihoods.   GBM encouraged the women to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood, and receive a small monetary token for their work.
Green Belt Movement

The History

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The Green Belt Movement (GBM) was founded by Professor Wangari Maathai in 1977 under the auspices of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) to respond to the needs of rural Kenyan women who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and they had to walk further and further to get firewood for fuel and fencing. GBM encouraged the women to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood, and receive a small monetary token for their work. Shortly after beginning this work, Professor Maathai saw that behind the everyday hardships of the poor—environmental degradation, deforestation, and food insecurity—were deeper issues of disempowerment, disenfranchisement, and a loss of the traditional values that had previously enabled communities to protect their environment, work together for mutual benefit, and to do both selflessly and honestly.

The Present

The need to protect the environment and the forest which Wangari found so hard to protect continues.
1 March 2016: Update on Karura Forest - A call to Kenyans
Thank you for your continued and overwhelming support in the fight for integrity and preservation of Karura Forest. This fight to protect Karura is far from over, and GBM continues to seek your help to protect this vital natural resource.
Find out what's happening!
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Contact us at: [email protected]
In Tottenham seven trees were planted in a ring over 400 years ago for reasons lost in time; the Seven Sisters area and the underground station are named after them. The seven trees have been replanted a number of times, always by seven sisters. 

The Tottenham Trees logo, shown on the right, is a silhouette of the Bruce Castle Oak with the logo of the Charter for Trees, Woods and People launched in November 2017, on the 800th anniversary of the Royal Charter of the Forest.

Picture
  • Tottenham Trees
    • Winter Tree blog: Evergreen trees
    • Trees in Tottenham (Galleries) >
      • Tottenham trees (A-D common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (E-K common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (L-R common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (S-Z common name)
    • Special trees in Tottenham >
      • Bruce Castle Oak >
        • Arboricultural survey
        • Reminiscences of the Bruce Castle Oak
        • Calling Tree >
          • Calling Tree: gallery
      • Mulberry tree
      • Seven Sisters
    • Tottenham parks >
      • St Ann's Redevelopment
    • Tottenham Tree Trails
    • Archive >
      • Celebrating Trees 2023
      • #HaringeyFavouriteTrees 2022
      • #HaringeyFavouriteTrees 2021
      • Tree Charter Day 2019 >
        • Legacy Oak Ale
      • Tree Charter Day 2018
      • Tree Charter Day 2017
      • 800 year Charter anniversary
      • Calling Tree: Tottenham
      • London Tree Week 2017
      • London Tree Week 2016
      • Other Tottenham tree events
    • Who we are >
      • Postcards and Bags
  • About Trees
    • Threats to our trees
    • Tree Identification
    • Stephen's Tree Quizzes >
      • Celebrating Trees 2023 >
        • Answers: Celebrating Trees 2023
      • Celebrating Trees 2019 >
        • Answers: Celebrating Trees 2019
      • Celebrating Trees 2018 >
        • Answers: Celebrating Trees
      • Lazy Sunday Tree Quiz >
        • Answers: Lazy Sunday
    • Global Tree Calendar
    • Charter for Trees >
      • Charter history
      • Charter Principles
      • Independent Panel on Forestry
  • Urban Trees
    • Growing trees from seed
    • iTree surveying
    • Street Trees for Living
    • Tree care
    • Tree packs for free
    • Tree planting
    • Trees in the Townscape
  • Inspirations
    • Trees in Art from Tottenham
    • Trees in Words from Tottenham >
      • From the Sycamore Gap
      • Message on leaves
      • Nothing
      • Ode from the Oak
      • Of this tree
      • Poetry@The Room 2024 >
        • Little Ol' Me
        • The Elder
      • Poetry @ The Room 2017 >
        • Epping
        • Under the Elder Tree
      • Poetry Sunday @ Bruce Castle
      • It's a Word Thing!
    • Wangari Maathai >
      • Green Belt Movement
      • Institute and Foundation
      • First Seven Trees
      • Remembering Wangari
      • Kenya
    • Felix Finkbeiner >
      • Plant for the Planet >
        • 3 Point Plan
    • Chico Mendes
    • Chipko Movement
    • Inspiring stories from around the world
  • Green Spaces
    • Other Haringey Green Spaces
    • London Friends of Green Spaces
    • London National Park City
    • Parks cafe trail
    • The Conservation Volunteers
    • Future Forest