Nobel Peace Prize Recipent, Wangari Maathai, Visits with Philadelphia Students.

On Monday, October 16, 2006, students from Blankenburg Elementary School were invited to a private reception with Ms Wangari Maathai , the 2004 Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  Ms Maathai is best known for spearheading the planting of millions of trees through the GREENBELT MOVEMENT in her native Kenya.  The students were chosen because of the important Service Learning projects they had conducted in the creation of the "Green Cities" tile mosaic at Blankenburg, for the planting of trees around the perimeter of their school, and for a High Performance, Green architecture project.  The Community Partner for the Green Cities mosaic was NetworkArts.  This 30 foot long, student created work of art is a curriculum guide to sustainability.  The tree planting initiative was conducted with the critical Community Partnership support of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and has improved the neighborhood aesthetics around the school.  It has also made the community a healthier place to live and work and has provided the students with the opportunity to learn about native species and what it means to be good citizens.
At the reception, the students had a once in a lifetime opportunity to engage Ms Maathai in conversation about being good stewards of the Earth and about Ms. Maathai's experiences growing up in Africa.  Wangari signed copies of her book, "UNBOWED".