Elizabeth Wathuti author page

Elizabeth Wathuti biography

Elizabeth Wathuti is a Kenyan environmentalist, climate leader and author. She is the founder and CEO of the Green Generation Initiative (GGI), an organisation working on environmental restoration, climate education and community resilience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Community Development from Kenyatta University.

Wathuti founded the Green Generation Initiative in 2016. Its work has included environmental education in schools, tree-growing programmes and locally led restoration projects. She has also held roles with the Wangari Maathai Foundation, including leading its Youth Hub, and has represented young people in international environmental initiatives. In 2021, she addressed world leaders at the opening ceremony of the COP26 World Leaders Summit in Glasgow.

Her environmental work has received several international honours. She received the Wangari Maathai Scholarship Award and was recognised by the UN Environment Programme through its Young Champions of the Earth programme in 2019. She received a Diana Award in the same year, was included in the TIME100 Next list in 2022 and received a TIME100 Impact Award in 2023. In 2025, TIME included her in its TIME100 Climate list.

Wathuti’s debut picture book, The Forest Is a Part of Me, is illustrated by Michelle Pereira and published by Little Tiger. Drawing on Wathuti’s own experiences, it follows a girl who plants her first tree at the age of seven and introduces young readers to forests, deforestation and environmental conservation. Little Tiger acquired world rights directly from Wathuti, and the book is scheduled for publication on 3 September 2026.