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[Coop and Dino singing]

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The world's a rough place. [Men fighting in the street]

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There are so many problems and sometimes, it feels like we'll never solve them.

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Luckily, Wangari Maathai didn't feel the same way. [Wangari Maathai holding a plant]

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Wangari Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the first African woman

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to win a Nobel Peace Laureate.

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Why stop at one major accomplishment if you can have two? [Wangari pointing to her awards on a shelf]

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That's how we live our lives, too! Except…we swap in "chocolate chip cookie" for "major

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accomplishment."

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She grew up in Kenya, moved to the United States, and graduated as a biologist from [Wangari holding a plant with a biology degree]

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Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas at the age of 24.

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Then she returned to Kenya, and saw that her home was suffering from deforestation, which

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is when trees are cleared, transforming forests into cleared land. [Coop discussing deforestation]

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So, Wangari motivated the poor women in her home to do something about it: she had them

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plant trees.

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Sounds easy, huh? [Digger appears on deforested land]

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And even though people tried to stop her, Wangari never gave up. She continued to encourage

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others with her persistence, positive attitude, and super-cool name.

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And this story has a happy ending! Over 35 million trees were planted and the area where [Bird-eye view of trees in a forest]

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Wangari lived has become green and lush all over again. So take that, deforestation.

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Wangari also helped people see that small actions matter and, if you're really passionate [Young boy holding dirty pants and socks]

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about something, you can make a difference.

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Yup, you. You right there, watching this video. You can make a difference.

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And even though she didn't do it for the glory, Wangari received several honors and awards [Wangari holding several awards]

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anyway, as she should have. So what can we learn from Wangari's experiences?

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Well, let's think about the steps that Wangari and her fellow Kenyans followed to come up

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with their action plan.

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First, they discussed the problem: deforestation. [Coop talking about Wangari's action plan]

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Then they found a solution: plant some trees.

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They learned the steps necessary and the materials they would need: tree seeds, water, dirt,

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and poop.

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We’re not even joking with that one. Gardening is messy work. [Father and son gardening]

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Sometimes they had to adapt their plan. They didn't always have the materials they needed

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and the work was really hard, but they persevered.

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These steps aren't just useful for solving issues of deforestation. Apply these general

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steps to a problem you see in your community and, as unbelievable as it might seem, you [Man falls off edge of a cliff]

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might just make the world a better place.

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Just…maybe leave the "poop" step out, if you're working in a soup kitchen, or something…

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