Green Belt Movement
Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya 路 Nonprofit 路 National 路 since 1977
Community-led tree planting and watershed restoration across Kenya since 1977
About
The Green Belt Movement is a Kenyan environmental organization founded in 1977 by Wangari Maathai under the National Council of Women of Kenya. It works with community tree nursery groups, Community Forest Associations and smallholder farmers to restore degraded forest landscapes, mainly in Kenya's major watersheds such as the Mau Forest Complex, Mount Kenya and North Nandi Forest. Its programs cover ecosystem restoration, agroforestry and sustainable livelihoods, and advocacy and policy work. The organization reports more than 51 million trees planted since its founding.
What they run
Plants indigenous tree seedlings in degraded forest and watershed areas such as the Mau Forest Complex, Mount Kenya, Sururu and North Nandi Forest, working with Community Forest Associations.
Distributes fruit and high-value tree seedlings to registered smallholder farmers and trains them in agroforestry, climate-smart agriculture and Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration.
Community groups, mostly women-led, raise indigenous and fruit tree seedlings that GBM buys and distributes for restoration and agroforestry planting.
The numbers
| Metric | Year | Value | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hectares restoredto date | 2025 | 4,000,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, 'Our Impact': 'restored approximately 4 million hectares of degraded land' since founding |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 1,980,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, p.5-6, '2025 by the numbers': 'more than 1.98 million indigenous, fruit and agroforestry tree seedlings' planted and distributed |
| Trees plantedto date | 2025 | 51,000,000 | Organization-wide | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, 'Our Impact': 'Since its founding, GBM has planted over 51 million trees across Kenya' |
| Hectares restored | 2025 | 209 | Ecosystem Restoration Programme | Self-reported | source2025 Annual Report, p.12: 1,157,261 indigenous seedlings planted in watershed focus areas, 'we have restored 208.7 ha of degraded forest lands in 2025' |
Upcoming events
None listed here right now. Send us their calendar feed. Their volunteer page is the place to look.