Woman who helped change Michuki park, green Nairobi
By Francis Githinji, July 10, 2025Nairobi’s skyline tells a story of transformation. Where cracked pavements and dusty lots once defined the city, lush canopies now stretch over bustling streets.
This metamorphosis didn’t happen by accident—it was the work of Christine Wangari, a woman whose name has become synonymous with urban greening in Kenya.
Wangari is the woman behind many of the acacias, crotons, neem, and ficus trees that now stretch across Nairobi, shading pavements, calming traffic corridors, and stitching life back into forgotten urban spaces.
Her story begins with another Wangari – the late Prof Wangari Maathai.
“Her passion ignited something in me,” she says, “I dreamed of walking in her footsteps, to heal the land and restore its dignity through trees.”
Armed with inspiration, she began a nursery on her family’s land in Nakuru. Within five years, and with the help of local youth, she was nurturing over three million indigenous seedlings.
Wangari’s environmental awakening began in the early 2000s, on her family’s land in Nakuru County. Inspired by the late Prof Maathai, she started small, nurturing indigenous seedlings in a modest nursery.
But while Maathai focused on rural forests, Wangari saw untapped potential in Nairobi’s concrete sprawl.
“Cities are ecosystems too,” she says. “They need trees not just for beauty, but for survival—cleaner air, cooler streets, and even mental peace.”
Her big break came in 2006, when she learned about empty cargo trucks returning to Mombasa after deliveries. Recognising an opportunity, she pitched an audacious plan to the then City Clerk, the late John Gakuo: use those trucks to transport thousands of seedlings from Nakuru to Nairobi at minimal cost.
“Grass and flowers were draining the city’s water supply,” she recalls. “I told him, ‘Let’s plant trees that will outlive us instead.’”
Gakuo took a chance on her. At 2 am one morning, as Nairobi slept, the first shipment arrived—neem, croton, and ficus trees piled onto trucks like precious cargo.
Workers unloaded them along roadsides, riverbanks, and abandoned lots. It was the start of a quiet revolution.
Transforming Nairobi wasn’t as simple as planting trees and walking away. She faced resistance at every turn.
City officials blamed her when seedlings died (even when they failed to water them). Developers scoffed at her insistence on deep-rooted native species over fast-growing ornamentals.
“People wanted instant greenery—tidy palms that looked nice in brochures,” she recalls.
“But I fought for trees that would still be standing in 100 years.”
She registered Multitouch International (MTI) to distribute them at minimal cost to schools, public spaces, and institutions.
For young Nairobians, her legacy is everywhere: in the shade of a ficus tree at a bus stop, in the vibrant crotons lining schoolyards, and in the revived Nairobi River, once choked with pollution and the breathtaking Michuki Park.
Hon John Michuki Memorial Park, popularly known as Michuki Park, the newest urban green zone, was officially unveiled on August 14, 2020, in a colourful ceremony presided over by then President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The event was a culmination of over three months of extensive rehabilitation works carried out by Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), National Environment Management Authority (Nema) under the guidance of Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Keriako Tobiko and other stakeholders including the National Museums of Kenya and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
Lifestyle, livelihood
Wangari is part of this bigger team behind Michuki Park and Nairobi’s green revolution.
Her story isn’t just about planting trees; it’s about reimagining what a city can be. It’s a blueprint for how passion, innovation, and sheer stubbornness can turn a dream into a movement.
And for Kenya’s youth—a generation grappling with climate anxiety and unemployment—her journey offers a powerful lesson: change starts with a single seed.
Her persistence has paid off. Michuki Park, once a barren strip along the Nairobi River, became her crowning achievement.
Today, it’s a thriving green corridor where office workers eat lunch under the shade of acacias she planted as saplings.
“That park proved we could heal even the most neglected spaces,” she says, running her fingers over the bark of a towering neem.
For Wangari, greening Nairobi was never just about aesthetics. It was about creating a sustainable lifestyle—and jobs.
Her 2017 40 Billion Trees, One Million Jobs initiative redefined environmentalism for Kenya’s youth, linking tree-planting to economic empowerment.
“Why should saving the planet mean sacrificing your livelihood?” she asks. Through MTI, she trained thousands in agroforestry, turning conservation into a career path. Agroforestry is a land management approach that integrates trees and shrubs with crops or livestock, combining agricultural and forestry technologies.
Her advocacy also helped Kenya ban single-use plastics in 2017, a victory she calls “proof that policy can change when people push.”
But her proudest legacy is the cultural shift she inspired.
“Nairobians used to see trees as decoration,” she says.
“Now they value them as part of daily life—for shade, clean air, and even mental health.”
Today, Wangari drives through Nairobi with satisfaction.
“I can trace them all – the candlenuts near City Stadium, the Ficus along the Mathare River, the crotons brushing school fences,” she says.
“Every tree tells a story—of struggle, of survival, of belief.”
And her efforts earned her international acclaim.
In 2012, she won the Energy Global Award in Sweden for her work reclaiming degraded water catchments. Her organisation, MTI, is among the leading voices in Kenya’s climate response.
Founded in 2003, it now champions agroforestry, water conservation, and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) restoration, all while advocating for climate-smart employment for the youth.
As the sun lights up the horizon with calm, golden yellow rays, the enthusiastic and passionate environmentalist has a pensive look.
“I know that it is possible to green 40 per cent of the arid lands. All it takes is commitment, passion and goodwill. I just wish someone would give me the task of doing so by giving MTI a chance to do this,” she says.
The constitution, she says, allows for individuals to be allocated arid lands and unused spaces for afforestation projects. Currently, this is her greatest wish that would bring her fulfilment.
Call to action
Wangari’s work isn’t finished. She dreams of greening Kenya’s arid lands and empowering more young people to lead the charge in environmental conservation and land restoration.
“You don’t need a nursery or a government contract to make a difference. Start small. One seedling at a time,” she insists.