Green Heroes

Meet the remarkable individuals who dedicated their lives to restoring ecosystems, planting forests, and protecting our planet.

Abdul Kareem

The One-Man Forest of Kerala

India · 1950–present

Indian conservationist who single-handedly grew a 32-acre forest on barren laterite land in Kerala over more than 30 years.

Chico Mendes

Defender of the Amazon Rainforest

Brazil · 1944–1988

Brazilian rubber tapper and union leader who organized nonviolent resistance to protect the Amazon rainforest from deforestation.

Felix Finkbeiner

Youth Climate Activist and Founder of Plant-for-the-Planet

Germany · 1997–present

German activist who started Plant-for-the-Planet at age 9, building a youth movement that has planted billions of trees worldwide.

Jadav Payeng

The Forest Man of India

India · 1959–present

Indian environmental activist who single-handedly planted a 1,360-acre forest on a barren sandbar in Assam over four decades.

John D. Liu

Filmmaker and Ecosystem Restoration Advocate

United States · 1953–present

American-Chinese filmmaker who documented the Loess Plateau restoration and founded Ecosystem Restoration Camps worldwide.

Marina Silva

Champion of the Amazon and Brazilian Environmental Leader

Brazil · 1958–present

Brazilian environmentalist and politician from Acre who fought alongside Chico Mendes and became Minister of the Environment.

Richard St. Barbe Baker

Pioneer of Global Reforestation

United Kingdom · 1889–1982

British forester who founded Men of the Trees in 1922, one of the world's first international conservation organizations.

Sebastiao Salgado

Photographer Turned Reforester

Brazil · 1944–present

Brazilian photographer who, with his wife Lelia, reforested over 1,500 acres of degraded Atlantic Forest at Instituto Terra.

Vandana Shiva

Seed Sovereignty Champion and Environmental Scholar

India · 1952–present

Indian physicist and activist who founded the Navdanya seed bank network to protect biodiversity and farmers' rights.

Wangari Maathai

Nobel Laureate & Founder of the Green Belt Movement

Kenya · 1940–2011

Kenyan environmentalist who founded the Green Belt Movement and planted over 51 million trees across Africa.

Willie Smits

Orangutan Rescuer and Rainforest Restorer

Indonesia · 1957–present

Dutch-Indonesian scientist who restored degraded Borneo rainforest through the Samboja Lestari project to save orangutans.

Yacouba Sawadogo

The Man Who Stopped the Desert

Burkina Faso · 1946–present

Burkinabe farmer who revived ancient Zai planting techniques to reclaim Sahel desert and restore forests in Burkina Faso.