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Felix is a German environmentalist and founder of the international tree planting and environmental advocacy organization Plant-for-the -Planet. Aged just 9 he was inspired by Wangari Maathai, from Kenya, who inspired a group of women to plant 30 million trees . Aged 9 he gave his first presentation to his class. His classmates clapped and cheered when he planted his first tree. News of the project spread and in April 2007 with help from his family he launched his children’s tree planting campaign. Aged 10 spoke in the European Parliament. In October 2008, with his sister Franziska and Gregory they held a special week-end. 100 children attended to train to be Climate Justice Ambassadors. After just 3 years the initiative resulted in 1,000,000 trees being planted… Met Wangari at UN meeting in New York. They combined efforts. By February 2011 over 12 billion trees planted. 2012 launched Die Gute Schokolade - Change Chocolate bar. The chocolate is Fair Trade and carbon neutral. For every 5 bars bought a tree is planted in Mexico (every 15 seconds a tree is planted). Aged 13 attended the UN General Assembly. Today Felix leads an organisation with 130 employees. Their target is 3,000,000,000, 000 trees ( 3 trillion) by 2030. His/their target is to help slow down climate change. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Observe and interact Catch and store energy Obtain a yield Apply self regulation and accept feedback Use and value renewable resources and services Produce no waste Design from patterns to details Integrate rather than separate Use small and slow solutions Use and value diversity Use edges and value the marginal Creatively use and respond to change Perrine and Charles Herve-Gruyer in 2003 bought a small farm in a village called Hellouin, in France. They were determined to start with goals of self-sufficiency and wanting to grow healthy organic food without the use of chemicals or machinery. Few people had heard of organic farming. This they tried for 5 years but the yield did not make enough money to support the family. An email in 2008 ,about Permaculture, from a friend, changed everything. In the wild twice as much biomass , or plant material, grows naturally compared to farmland without the use of machinery or fossil fuels. It involves observing and learning from nature -how it makes new soil, protects and saves its water resources and how it adapts to climate. Perrine went on a Permaculture course in the UK that winter. They introduced vegetable beds which they did not dig but covered in mulch -plant cuttings and dead leaves. This protected the soil from drying out and made new soil as it rotted down. The result was more worms , fewer slugs and the vegetables grew better. They planted different crops close together, fitting them four times closer then before. They planted an edible forest with mushrooms, berries, fruit bushes and nut trees. They dug ponds, with island gardens in the middle, so the water reached the plants through the ground- no more watering the crops with hoses or watering cans. In their polytunnels they kept hens which eat the unwanted scraps slugs and snails, produced eggs and fertilized in the form of droppings. The French National Institute of Agricultural Research began a scientific research. After 10 years their 6,500 square farm had been transformed into an enormous garden with crops (800 varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs) , wild flowers, singing birds, ducks, frogs and insects. The Herve-Gruyer family wanted to create something beautiful and the Earth gave back back to them in abundance. The farm, using the Permaculture ideals, produces 10 times more than a normal farm of a similar size. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Yin, aged 20, living on the edge of the** Mu Us Desert*, in northern China, decided, following being caught in a sandstorm, to try to reclaim the lost land taken by the desert. It was 1986. She had moved there the previous year to live with her husband, Bai Wanxiang. It was an arranged marriage. Her father’s best friend was dying and he agreed for her to marry his son. , She left behind her village Jinber Tang, which had green fields and wild flowers, for a dwelling in the desert, dug out of a slope, half buried in sand. Each day they had to shovel the sand from their front door to get outside. Climate change was making things worse. She started to plant trees when he left for work to overcome her loneliness. She was delighted they survived the winter. Bai sold his goat for 600 saplings but only 10 survived. They knew nothing about growing trees. They bought more trees and learned that Mongolian pine grew better in the desert. She learned to plant shrubs which held water before planting trees. She planted willows and lost them! Bai learned that the government had given the village 500, 000 saplings. The villagers were not interested. They had all of them. It was a round trip lasting 6 hours and took 20 days to collect all of them. It took months to plant them. Half of them survived thanks to the rain and grew into strong trees… They named them Yin’s Forest. As the forest grew neighbours, who originally laughed, started to plant saplings to control the sand… TV reporters came to see the forest, followed by government officials. Forest stratification has grown from 5.05 % in 1977 to 12.4 in 2012. Many attribute this feat to Yin. Nearly 40 years on Yin’s Forest is nolonger a desert but a flourishing village full of colour, fruit and other different variations of wildlife. Yin is now both a mother and grandmother but still continues to plant saplings . The trees she has planted feel like her children. She has been nominated by the Chinese Government for a Noble Prize. In 2020 her afforestation efforts were recognized by the Chinese Communist Party. Sources Wikipedia **Earth Heroes ** by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Isobel, from Portugal, saw an advert for a competition that would benefit her country This got her thinking about the amount of food which is wasted becomes it does not come up to standard - it looks ugly. (30 % of all food crops grown in Portugal are trashed.) It might look ugly but it could taste the same. or even better! She came second in the competition and won 15,000 euros. She set up** Fruta Feia She asked farmers to sell her their imperfect fruit or vegetables. They were suspicious to begin with but eventually agreed. !0 agreed to sell their unwanted produce to Fruta Feia. Fruta Feia started on November 18th 2013. Today it has 16 delivery points, around 350 farmers and 9,000 customers. It prevents 24 tons of fruit and vegetables ending up in the trash EVERY DAY. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily dyu and Amy Blackwell

Doug’s love for wolves began when he was a child. He read books about them and puzzled why humans could wipe out an entire animal species. He had to wait until he was 18 to take a volunteer position to help raise wolf pups in Indiana. He went to university to study biology and spent his summers working with wolves. He finished his studies in 1994 and joined the Yellowstone Wolf Project, becoming project leader in 1997.killed In 1995, almost 60 years after the last native wolves were killed, 14 wolves from Canada were released into the park’ Doug until he retired in 2024, watched the positive influence the reintroduction of wolves had on the ecosystem of the park. The number of elk fell in the park - which they had expected. The wolves changed the eat habits of the elks- they now now grazed and browsed instead of staying in one place. With less elks the land had a chance to recover. Trees which had been stunted in their growth now grew into dense forests. The berries and the insects from the trees brought back the birds Beavers flourished, their dams created deep pools and caused the rivers to slow down and meander The new trees stabilised the riverbanks The wolves had changed the landscape itself. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Isatou initiated a recycling project called One Plastic Bag in Gambia. She noticed that the main streets of N’jau in Gambia were plagued with high piles of trash consisting of all forms from discarded plastics , tins, tyres, house waste and especially plastic bags were surrounded with puddles of water and malaria infected mosquitoes. Isatou brought to life the idea of recycling plastic bags to make purses that could be sold for money. Plastic bags were collected, dried out and then torn into small yam like threads called ‘plam’. These threads would be weaved together to make small hand held bags, It took 10 plastic bags to make a bag. Initially they were ridiculed but it worked. The money generated meant women living in poverty were now able to take care of their families. N’jau Recycling and Income Generation Group (NRIGG) was born. Today they recycle other waste to make jewelry, beads, armchairs, stools, even compost! Today Isatou works with more than 11,000 people and NRIGG is based in 4 separate communities across The Gambia She has travelled the world to share her story. Her village is now clean and tidy. Sources Wikipedia Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Chewang from Ladakh in India, who had a diploma in civil engineering (1960), noticed a small stream in his yard had frozen solid under the shade of a group of popular trees, though it flowed freely elsewhere in his yard. He realized that the flowing water was moving too fast to freeze while the sluggish water beneath the trees was slow enough to freeze. Seeking money for his idea villagers and officials thought he was pagal or crazy. Based on this he created an artificial glacier by diverting a river into a valley, slowing down the stream by constructing checks. The next spring the villagers were amazed to find it worked. The artificial glaciers increase the ground water recharge, rejuvenating the spring and providing water for irrigation By 2012 he had built 12 artificial glaciers (there are now15) The largest one is in Phuktsey village - 1000ft long, 150ft wide and 4 ft in depth. Source Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu and Amy Blackwell

Rok Rozman, a former Olympic rower, who is concerned about climate change, has dedicated his life to protecting wild rivers. Too many rivers have had dams built on them.- Dams destroy the natural environment. To build a dam, hydroelectric dams especially, a valley is flooded to create a reservoir, destroying the plants and animals which live there, plus the homes and communities of the inhabitants would be lost… At a rivers conference, without stopping to think, he announced that he and his friends would paddle the affected rivers the following spring.It was to be called the Balkan Rivers Tour. The kayakers tour, which lasted 39 days, began in April 2016. Rok and his friends were joined by 500 kayakers and 1,500 activists from 18 countries- some for days , others fro weeks. TV , radio and newspaper reporters followed the tour - the stories of the local inhabitants were finally heard. On the last day Rok, in Tirana, Albaniia’s capital city gave a speech. The police stopped him from delivering his kayak to the Prime Minister. Source Earth Heroes by Lily dyu & Amy Blackwell

Mohammed is the Founding Executive Director of Ahidhula Swanirvar Sangstha. He lives in Bangladesh which lies on a huge river delta where 3 rivers meet the sea. The country is low lying and flooding is now more frequent and severe due to climate change. It is estimated the country will permanently lose one fifth of its land under water. In the monsoon season children could not get to school. He had a dream to build floating schools. He studied Architecture. Once he had finished his studies he set about creating a charity. No money came forward so he collected waste - like plastic and glass. It took 4 years, by recycling waste, to buy 4 traditional boat hulls. In 2002 his first floating school was launched.In 2004 he received his first international funding. He now has 26 floating schools 8 other countries now have floating schools Source Earth Heroes

Sylvia is a Ugandan academic (BA, MA , DrP) and human rights activist in Uganda. In 2004 she was recognized by several women’s organizations in Uganda for her human rights activism. In a speech in October 2016 she called for a revision of the Ugandan laws that discriminate against women. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights Sylvia Tamale Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Malihi Abidi

She was better known as Mum Shirl. She visited 1000s of prisoners in her life time. When asked by prison officials who she was she replied ’ their mother’. This all started when she visited her brother, Laurie, in prison. As a child she received little education because she suffered from epilepsy. She was unable to read or write but knew approximately 16 Aboriginal languages. This did not stop her from becoming a social worker, a humanitarian activist committed to justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians. She was a founding member of many Aboriginal committees. ( See list) She dedicated her life to helping others. During her lifetime she was recognized as an Australian National Living Treasure. Sources Wikipedia *RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World * by Maliha Abidi

Maria,from Brazil, married a Columbian husband and they had 3 children After he was granted Brazilian citizenship he became violent to both his wife and children. He shot her in the spine and she became a paraplegic. He escaped punishment because he said it happen when they were burgled - the police accepted the story. He then tried to electrocute her her while she bathed. For the next 19 years she fought to have him jailed. He was tried twice, found guilty but went free each time. In 2002 sentenced to 8 years in jail but released in 2003. Maria campaigned for changes in the law with regards to domestic violence. She took her case to the Organization of America States. August 7th, 2006, the Maria da Penha Law was passed. It entered into force on 22nd September 2006. Brazil now recognizes multiple forms of violence against women and sets stricter punishments to abuse. A change that has had a life saving impact on countless women. Today Maria is the coordinator of studies of the *Associacao de Parentes e Amigos de Violencia de Violencia (APAVV) Sources Wikipedia *RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Have Changed the World * by Maliha Abidi

Rigoberta was a member of the resistance movement in Guatemala during its brutal civil war (1960-96). She followed in her father’s footsteps by joining the Committee for Peasant Unity in 1979 and becoming a member of the National Coordinating Committee 7 years later (1986). She escaped to Mexico in 1981. In 1983 she published book 1 Rigoberta Menchu which brought the world’s attention to this Silent Holocaust. Working with numerous local and international organizations she became a leading representative of indigenous and women’s rights around the world. In 1992 she won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the first indigenous recipient and the youngest at the time. She was Presidential Goodwill Ambassador for the 1996 peace accords in Guatemala. She unsuccessfully stood for president in 2007 and 2011. Rigoberta’s activism for political and economic equality, human rights and climate change action continues Maliha Abidi Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi

In 2014 Nadia was kidnapped from her home town Kocho and held by the Islamic State for 3 months. ISIS in August 2014 wanted to eradicate Yardis through terrorism and violence. They shot 600 men; the boys were taken to training camps. They killed many of the older women; young women were taken to be sold as slaves. Nadia lost her mother and 6 brothers. Nadia was sold several times and suffered sexual violence by multiple men. On her first attempt to escape she was beaten and gang raped. Her second escape was successful. Hours later she reached an Arab house . The family, at great risk of their own lives, hid her and smuggled out of the region. From an Iraq refugee camp she moved to Germany. She began to speak about what had happened to her and the rest of her people tens of thousands of Yazidis had been killed or displaced. .In just over a year after the invasion she addressed the United Nations . She founded Nadia’s Initiative - a non-profit organization advocating for survivors of sexual violence and the rebuilding of communities in crisis. 2016 appointed first ever Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. 2018 , with Denis Mukwege, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize * for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and conflict*. She is the first Iraq and Yazidi to be awarded the Nobel Prize. Relentlessly she has urged the world to take action and bring ISIS to justice. Read sheet on Yazidis Definition ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Jihadist military group and terrorist organisation Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Have Changed the World by Maliha Abidi

Maria Teresa, Minerva and Patria Mirabel were assassinated for opposing the dictatorship of Rafael Truijillo. Truijillo invited Minerva and her family to a party and made sexual advances towards her, she refused . He became her enemy. He imprisoned her father who died shortly after his release. Minerva had studied law but Truijillo prevented her obtaining her degree. Minerva was the most active of the three sisters being the founder of June 14 Revolutionary Movement. - an underground revolutionary dedicated to ending his regime. The older sister, Patria, lent her house to store weapons and tools. Truijillo be came aware of their clandestine activities. He arrested the sisters and their husbands. After several months he released the wives. He set a trap. The husbands were transferred to a remote prison. On a visit to their husbands the secret police intercepted them, beat them to death, placed their bodies in a car and sent it off a cliff. They died on 25th November 1960. Historians believe it marked the limits of domestic and international tolerance in the Dominion Republic…The truth behind the assassinations was an open secret. May1961 Truijillo was killed by a group of conspirators. The fourth sister, Dede (or Adela ), did not join the resistance but played a pivotal role by turning their home into a mausoleum in their memory. The remains of the 3 resistance fighters rest in the mausoleum. It was declared an extension of the National Pantheon and located in the Hermanas Mirabal House Museum The sisters today are revered as national heroines, 'las Mariposas’ (the butterflies). Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi

Maria was recognised by the Indonesia in 1969 as a National Hero for her. work towards the emancipation of women. This was 45 years after her death in 1924. Born Maria Josphine Catherine Maramis she was made an orphan when both her parents died froma disease when she was only 6. Maria, with her siblings were adopted by their uncle. Girls were primed for marriage from an early age. They were taught to read and write and received some science and history tuition. When she married her name changed to Maria Walanda Maramis. She began to write an opinion column for the local newpaper. Her topic owere motherhood and the woman’s role in caring for the health, well being and education of their families. In 1917 she founded Perctaan Ibu Kepada Anak Turunannya PIKAT , in English The Love of a Mother toward her children. The organization taught mothers how to cook, sew and childcare. PIKAT spread to other islands. It offered women a network through which they could exchange skills and information. Her daughters became teachers. Maria also worked for political change. In 1921 women were given permission to vote for their representatives. Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi

Margaret Yvonne Busby, born in Gold Coast (now Ghana ), became the youngest, first black female publisher in GB. Along with Clive Allison they were co-founders of Alison and Busby, a London based Publishing House, in the 1960s. Notable works Daughters of Africa 1992 New Daughters of Africa 2019 2020 she was voted one of the 100 Great Black Britons. 2021 honoured with the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement award. 2023 named president of English PEN. Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi

Loujain is from Saudi Arabia. Until 2018 women were not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. In 2014 she deliberately set out to challenge Saudi Arabia’s proscription against female drivers by live streaming her trip as part of a Women to Drive campaign. She was jailed for 73 days.n She has been arrested and released on several occasions for defying the ban . She has been charged with** attempting to destabilise the kingdom** In May 2018 she was effectively kidnapped in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) In 2018 the law was changed. The ban was lifted while she was in jail. In jail she is said to have endured torture, electrocution and threats of dismemberment and rape. In December 2020 she was sentenced to 5 years 8 months in jail by a special (terrorism court’. She was released on 10th February 2021 on strict prohibition conditions and faces a 5 year ban on travel. Despite her release Lourjain is far from free. Awards for her defiance In 2015 she was ranked 3rd in top 100 Most Powerful Arab Woman In 2019 received the PEN America/Barbey Freedom 2019/20 nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2020 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Malihi Abidi

Berta was assassinated, in her home, in 2016, by armed intruders after many years of threats against her life. She was a Honduran environmental activist, indigenous leader, co-founder and coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organization of Honduras (COPINH). She had dedicated her life to change Honduras where the rights of indigenous people were routinely violated,activists killed and women died every 18 hours. She successfully led a grassroots campaign/ blockade in 2013, which lasted a year against the world’s largest dam builder to stop the building of the Agua Zarca Dam at the Rio Gualcarque. Protesters were beaten, shot and tortured by the military Berta’s courageous efforts won her the prestigious Golden Environmental Prize.in 2015. In July 2021 Roberto David Castillo, the former president of Desarrollos Energeticos SA (DESA), was found guilty of being a co-conspirator in her murder and sentenced to 22 1/ 2 years in prison. Sources Wikipedia* RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World* by Maliha Abidi

Leymah Roberta Gbowe, with her collaborator Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ,and WIPNET, were responsible for ending the second Liberia Civil War in 2003. Together they led the Women of Liberia M ass Action of Peace (WIPNET) to end the civil war. They took hundreds of women to the hotel where the peace talks had stalled and stopped the negotiators from leaving until days later an agreement was reached… *The peace hall has been seized by General Leymah and her troops *Abubaker (Read the paragraph In June …) The president of Liberia , Charles Taylor went into exile but was eventually apprehended and sentenced to 50 years imprisonment. 2005 Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf became the first woman president of Liberia. 2011 Leymah and Ellen shared the Nobel Peace prize with Tawakei Kaman. Sources Wikipedia RISE: Extraordinary Women of Colour who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi