Jane Goodall at 90 still an environment champion

Dr Jane Goodall is returning to New Zealand for her Reasons For Hope tour.

She is regarded as the leading authority on chimpanzees and has spent over 60 years studying them in the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. And as she celebrates turning 90 years old this week, Dr Jane Goodall shows no sign of slowing down.

Dr Goodall is returning for a series of lectures and Q&A sessions in New Zealand and Australia in June.

“I love Australia and New Zealand with its rich biodiversity and proud First Nations heritage”, she said. “It will be tremendous to catch up with old friends and meet some of the young leaders making a difference through Roots & Shoots”.

The Jane Goodall Institute has been operating in Aotearoa since 2017 and now has a suite of educational programs that inspire young people to get out in their community and make a difference.

Image 1 of 10: Raja morning walk by Jody McDonald, courtesy of Vital Impacts

Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots is a youth education program developed by Dr Goodall in Tanzania in 1991 and today reaches millions of young people in more than 60 countries around the world. It is why she continues to travel around the world inspiring young people to take action.

“In all my lectures and books, I focus on reasons for hope. But today, it’s getting harder and harder to take that message of hope around the world. Todays’ young people—everywhere I go—they’re so excited and empowered. We’re listening to their voices. That gives us a reason to hope” Dr Goodall said in advance of her lecture tour.

And to help get the message of hope across, Vital Impacts, a women-led nonprofit that uses powerful visual storytelling to support conservation, is running a 90-day campaign called The Nature of Hope: 90 Years of Jane Goodall’s Impact highlighting the work of 90 female photographers inspired by Dr Goodall in honour of her birthday milestone.

“As we celebrate the extraordinary life and legacy of Jane Goodall, we not only honour her groundbreaking work in ethology but also recognize her pivotal role in inspiring women around the world,” said Vital Impact founder and National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale. “Jane Goodall did more than just redefine our understanding of the relationship between humans and animals; she shattered barriers and opened doors for women everywhere.”

The photographs represent a wide range of the best shooters in the field who reimagine our relationship with the world. In addition, Dr Goodall is offering exclusive, signed self-portraits that she created while working in Gombe National Park as a young conservationist, as well as hand-signed photographs of her beloved F-family of chimpanzees.

Proceeds for the sale will directly benefit the Jane Goodall Institute’s global chapter, which furthers Dr Goodall’s vision of science-based, community-led conservation and youth empowerment.

“I’m so delighted that our friends at Vital Impacts have launched their latest photo print sales,” Dr Goodall said. “I was really excited to see that that photo of me looking out at the valley at Gombe with my trusty lightweight telescope was chosen.

“I was on my own, very high up in the hills, and I thought what a great photo this would make. I had to find a place where there was a tree that was just right for balancing the camera. I had to set up the tripod and fiddle about until I had the tripod and the imagined image of me framed just right. That was in the days before digital, so I had to wait a long time before I got the results back from National Geographic. I was pretty proud of myself. I love that picture.”

Tickets for Dr Jane Goodall’s lecture series are on sale now at www.tegdainty.com.

Images from The Nature of Hope: 90 Years of Jane Goodall’s Impact are on sale now at https://vitalimpacts.org/collections/celebrate-jane-90.