Prof Wangari Maathai to receive ASLA medal

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Board of Trustees of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has selected the recipients of the 2005 Medals and Landscape Architecture Firm Award, to be presented on October 10, 2005, during the ASLA Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Hon. Wangari Maathai, PhD, Honorary ASLA, is Kenya’s Assistant Minister for Environment and the 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate. Born in Kenya in 1940, she fought to be educated, eventually becoming head of the veterinary medical faculty at the University of Nairobi. When she noticed her country’s deforestation and increasing desertification, she decided to take action by teaching women to plant trees. Her organization, the Green Belt Movement, has assisted women in planting over 20 million trees in Kenya and all over East Africa. In 2002 she was elected to Kenya’s Parliament, and last year she was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Maathai says, “It is evident that many wars are fought over resources, which are now becoming increasingly scarce. If we conserved our resources better, fighting over them would not occur…so, protecting the global environment is directly related to securing peace.”