Celebrating Women Environmental Activists
Emily Ellis
Throughout history, women have been at the frontlines of environmental activism, bringing about positive change despite violent threats, discrimination and on too many sad occasions, the loss of their lives.
Activists such as Rachel Carson, Wangari Maathai, Berta Cáceres, and Greta Thunberg are well-known for their bravery and relentless defense of the natural world. The work of such women has inspired generations of people to dedicate their lives to fields related to conservation and sustainability, including many of us at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation as we strive to protect and steward our little corner of the globe.
August 18th marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment. It granted women in the United States the right to vote, although many of them, particularly Black women, would face countless barriers as they attempted to exercise their voting rights. The amendment came after nearly a century of protests, and serves as a reminder of the great things that can be accomplished through persistent activism. It also reminds us of how far we have left to go in order to build a safe and just world for nature and people alike.
While the names of activists like Rachel Carson go down in history books (and rightly so), there are many women environmental defenders whose work is lesser-known. In honor of the centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment, we are highlighting the inspirational work of five female environmental activists from around the world. They represent only a few of the many women who dedicate their lives to defending the environment and their communities. Scroll down to read more.
Rosalie Edge (United States, New York)
Photo from Wikipedia
Although not as famous as some activists, suffragette and conservationist Rosalie Edge, who was particularly active during the Depression era, is considered by some scholars to be one of the country’s most fierce environmentalists. Her impressive roster of successful conservation efforts include founding the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania in order to end the slaughter of birds of prey in that area, leading campaigns to create Olympic and Kings Canyon National Parks in Washington and California, and lobbying Congress to purchase 8,000 acres of old-growth sugar pines on the perimeter of Yosemite National Park that were slated for logging. She also influenced many present-day environmentalists, including Sierra Club leader David Brower, and Nature Conservancy co-founder Richard Pough. Edge passed away in 1962.
Isatou Ceesay (Gambia)
Photo from www.oneplasticbag.com
Gambian activist Isatou Ceesay, known as the “queen of recycling,” initiated a movement in her country that changed the environment for the better. After seeing the ill effects caused by the plastic waste that was piling up in her community, causing toxic fumes and choking livestock and wildlife, she started a recycling center to teach local women how to make plastic bags into crafts. Over 2,000 women in over 40 communities have found work through the project since it began 20-plus years ago. The awareness that Ceesay helped raise led to Gambia banning the importation and use of plastic bags in 2015.
Her story is documented in the children’s book One Plastic Bag - a great read for the young environmentalist in your life!
Julia "Judy" Bonds (United States, West Virginia)
Photo from www.goldmanprize.com
A native of West Virginia, environmental activist Julia “Judy” Bonds was dedicated to protecting the Appalachian mountains, a region beloved and familiar to those of us residing in Virginia. The daughter of a coal miner, she fought against a particularly destructive form of coal mining called mountaintop removal, in which huge areas are stripped of trees. After Bonds, her family, and many of her neighbors were forced out of their generational homes in Marfork Hollow, WV due to the pollution caused by mountaintop removal, she fought against the detrimental practice by working with local grassroots group the Coal River Mountain Watch. Her efforts led to widespread awareness of destructive mining in Appalachia, and she was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2003. Bonds passed away in 2011.
Carolina Amaya (El Salvador)
Photo from www.awid.org.
Central America’s northern triangle (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) regularly tops lists of countries with high murder rates for environmental defenders. While the high-profile 2016 assassination of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres brought international attention to this disturbing trend, as well as to the environmental devastation that foreign-owned companies cause in rural communities through mining and dam construction, the murder of activists in Latin America has continued. Many women in these countries continue to defend their land despite the enormous risk.
Carolina Amaya is one of them. An ecologist with El Salvadoran conservation organization La Unidad Ecologica Salvadoreña, Amaya, along with fellow activists Vidalina Morales and Antonia Recinos, scored a major victory for the environment when El Salvador banned metals mining in 2017. The historic move came following years of protests, led by Amaya and the other women, against a proposed mining project from the Canadian Pacific Rim Mining Corporation.
Sônia Guajajara (Brazil)
Photo from www.smithcollegeclimateactivism.com
Born in the Amazon rainforest in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, environmental activist Sônia Guajajara is known as one of Brazil’s staunchest defenders of the environment and indigenous people’s rights. She currently serves as Executive Coordinator for the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, and her work has included unifying indigenous peoples throughout the country, which regularly sees environmental activists murdered with impunity, to defend their rights and fight against rampant deforestation. In 2018, she was a candidate for the vice-presidency of Brazil, becoming the first Indigenous woman to run for federal executive office in the country.
Want to read more about women working in fields related to plants and the environment? See our lists of History’s Greatest Women Botanists and Women in Science.