Jane rose to fame through her
55-year study of chimpanzees in
Gombe Stream National Park,
Tanzania. She trained as a
secretary and was fascinated by
animals, but had no scientific
credentials when she travelled to
Africa in 1960, aged just 26, to
study chimps under anthropolo-
gist Louis Leakey. In Gombe, Jane
documented chimps using sticks
as tools, astounding scientists (AG
105). She’s since set up the Jane
Goodall Institute, written many
books and been made a Dame by
Queen Elizabeth II. Her focus in
recent years has been on raising
awareness of endangered species,
particularly through community-
based programs. Humanitarian
youth group Roots and Shoots,
which Jane launched in 1991
with Tanzanian students, now has
150,000 members in about 130
countries. She continues speaking
worldwide on environmental
issues. “We are losing species at a
terrible rate, the balance of nature
is disturbed, and we are destroying
our beautiful planet,” she says.
“But in spite of all this I do have
hope. And my hope is based on
four factors: the human brain, the
indomitable human spirit, the
resilience of nature, and the
determination of young people.”
Jane Goodall
“Every individual
has a role to play.
Every individual
makes a
difference.”