Authors #107-109 plant the trees of Wangari Maathai of Africa

 Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter  I like the simplicity of this book-focusing on how Wangari started with just nine seedlings in her Kenyan backyard back in the late 1970's.

 Planting The Trees Of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola  With this book we see more of the devastation of drought from cutting down forests for firewood and clearing the land to grow commercial crops, many of which do not provide enough complete nutrition for the sustainability of life.  She helps the women of Africa to see that they must and can be part of the solution by planting trees.

Mama Miti written by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

The last book, Mama Miti outlines a few of the specific trees that Wangari tells the women to plant.  She had them plant everything from fruit trees, to trees for firewood, trees with leaves that cured some problems in cattle such as cattle gall, and trees that would help form natural fences to protect gardens and livestock from predators.

She also encouraged women to use the trees to filter water, provide shade and restore the land so that they could again grow traditional crops such as sweet potatoes, maize and sugarcane.  With the reforestation came other benefits such as the return of frogs, birds and other animals.  By 2004, thirty million trees had been planted and the green belt movement had spread to thirty African countries.