Trees planted in honor of notable Africans

Susan Wambugu stood beside a potted pear tree and scattered shovels.

“You can tell how many seeds are in an apple, but you can’t tell how many apples are in a seed,” Wambugu said.

She compared the fruit-bearing trees to Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Wangari Maathai. The African Students Association planted three trees Friday at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, just past Eigenmann Hall, in her memory and that of  two other African women who were awarded the Prize in 2011.

Maathai died Sept. 25, 2011, but the Kenyan political and environmental activist left a legacy as the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree and for founding the Green Belt Movement, a non-government organization focused on environmental conservation and women’s rights. She was named the laureate for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

Sophomore Rasheed Ojerinde, president of the ASA, said it is significant that the group planted three trees, and that they will produce fruit for years to come. Each tree represents a strong woman who has positively affected the lives of Africans, Ojerinde said.

The first pear tree, planted in honor of Maathai, is a Bartlett Pear Tree and will germinate the other two for years to come.

Another tree was planted in honor of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was the first woman elected president in Africa, and the third and final pear tree was planted in honor of activist Leymah Gbowee,

“Just as these trees will yield fruit, the citizens of Kenya are reaping the benefits of Maathai’s work,” Ojerinde said.