The name Wangari Maathai is not one that is known to many people in Britain, but deserves to be. Affectionately known as Africa’s Forest Goddess, her life was an extraordinary and inspiring journey from very humble beginnings in a traditional, Kenyan mud-walled hut to becoming the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She inspired and empowered women across Africa to plant swathes of trees to reverse the environmental destruction begun in colonial times, and to provide themselves with desperately needed resources. Wangari was also a trailblazing female African academic, an environmental and human rights activist and a campaigner for democracy. She was arrested and imprisoned on many occasions for her activism.