Wangari Maathai told us the story of humming bird, a small bird trying its best to put out a fire in a forest. In the story, the small bird carries small drops of water from river and rushes back and forth to put out the fire. The big animals laugh and discourage it but it keeps going.  According to the humming bird, it's doing the best it can to save the forest, its home.

Prof Mathai saw herself as a humming bird, doing the best she can to save the environment, and in so doing, having to deal with opposition from big and powerful individuals in society.

We too can be hummingbirds. We too can do our best to save the environment - our home, our planet, our earth.  Doing your small part means a lot. If we all did our small part, it would save the earth.

 If every child, in every school in Kenya did a small thing for the environment, it would make a big difference.  For example, in Kenya, if every child planted a tree and took care of it, just one tree, then we would have an additional fifteen million trees planted and growing.  

If every child picked a plastic bag, every day, in Kenya, we would have fifteen million plastic bags less in our environment.  Our environment would be that much cleaner.  If we all saved a little water when bathing or brushing our teeth, we would save a lot of water.

All of us have that little thing we can do.  All of us can be little humming birds doing their best.  And the environment would that much better for all of us.

Let us all remember and honour the Late Nobel Laureate, Prof Wangari Mathai with our little actions on the environment.   Let us make the great Professor smile forever wherever she is with our creator.  Let her great hopes for the environment live in us and be realised through our actions, every day.

My call is for all of us to be little humming birds: in primary schools, in high schools, our big brothers and sisters in universities and colleges.  I am calling upon you all to do your little thing for the environment. 

See Wangari's Maathai Biography

photos from sofreshandsogreen.com and hummingbirds.net