Dr. Jane Goodall | An appreciation post

This is a post dedicated to the remarkable British Primatologist and Anthropologist, Dr. Jane Goodall and her invaluable life’s work. I hope you enjoy learning about her. There are some resources at the bottom of this post where you can continue to learn more.

We humans are every bit a part of nature as our fellow fauna, but we often think and behave as though we are not. As we walk the earth, our actions have impacts and it’s up to us to make sure most of those impacts are positive.

In the Humans section of Tellurian Treasures, I celebrate those who embody the characteristics of what I would call a true ‘earthling’. These are the people who nurture and respect their connection to the natural world. They are careful to tread lightly on the earth, while developing their knowledge of the intricacies of nature. They then share this knowledge with others and implement change, creating a valuable legacy that we can all live by and look up to.

Who is Dr. Jane Goodall?

In 1960, a 26 year old Jane Goodall descended into the mostly unknown world of the forest of Gombe in what was then known as Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania) on a quest to study wild Chimpanzees. This is the work Jane is best known for and she is responsible for some remarkable discoveries about the behaviour of Chimpanzees along the way. Some of her earliest discoveries included, that Chimpanzees eat meat and that they use tools.

The opportunity came about when she was offered the job of secretary to Paleontologist, Louis Leaky. Louis first sent Jane to London to study primate behaviour and anatomy alongside Osman Hill and John Naiper. Then in 1960, Jane travelled to the Gombe Reserve where she would observe Chimpanzees in their natural environment. During her long life so far, she has spent 50 years in the African Jungle.

In 1962 Jane to went to the University of Cambridge where she obtained a PhD in Ethology. She was one of the first people to be allowed to study a PhD without first studying a BA of BSc. Her thesis was completed in 1965 on the Behaviour of free-living chimpanzees, which detailed the first five years she’d spent studying at the Gombe Reserve.

Jane has since been a role model for many women who’ve taken an interest in studying primatology, which was very much a male dominated field in the late 50s and 60s. As a result many women were not accepted in the field when Jane began her research. Jane even had to be accompanied to the Gombe by her mother to satisfy the requirements of David Ansley, chief warden, who feared for their safety. Jane’s influence has enabled many other aspiring female primatologists and ethologists to pursue their passions and today there is much more of a balanced of males and females studying the subject.

In 1977, Jane founded the Jane Goodall Institute, an organisation she created to continue her work and research, while also expanding efforts to protect chimpanzees through conservation and environmental education.

Jane became an activist in the 80s when she attended the first ‘Understanding Chimpanzees’ conference in 1986. This shifted her focus from research to conservation. Since then she has been involved in a variety of holistic social and environmental projects.

In the early 90s, Jane founded ‘Roots & Shoots’ in Tanzania, where she worked with a group of students to discuss and implement ways young people can get involved in tackling big challenges while having a positive impact on the world. Roots & Shoots is an educational programme that encourages young people to implement positive change for the benefit of people, animals and the environment. In 2004 Jane was named a Messenger of Peace, the highest honor of the United Nations, for her work to create a more peaceful world through Roots & Shoots.

Jane also founded the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in 1991, which currently cares for over 150 chimpanzees that have been affected by illegal bushmeat and pet trades. Jane has also been involved in some major conservation programmes in recent years, where she has been involved with reforestation, land management and chimpanzee habitat protection as well as tackling poverty and supporting sustainable livelihoods in the villages that surround Lake Tanganyika.

In 2006, Jane was deservingly awarded an honorary doctor of science by the open university of Tanzania.

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
Dr. Jane Goodall

Find out more about Jane Goodhall

Visit the Jane Goodall Institute website to learn more about Jane and how the Institute is bringing her vision to life around the world. The organisation also accepts donations to fund her work.

Find out more about Roots & Shoots and their work by visiting the Roots & Shoots website.

Jane – The documentary

There is an amazing documentary all about Dr. Jane Goodhall’s revolutionary chimpanzee research, showcasing never-before-seen footage from the National Geographic archives. I would highly recommend it. The full documentary is available to watch on Netflix. You can watch the trailer below. This is how I first learnt about her admirable life’s work.

Books

‘One of history’s most impressive field studies; an instant animal classic’
TIME

Description from Hive.co.uk: ‘Jane Goodall’s classic account of primate research provides an impressively detailed and absorbing account of the early years of her field study of, and adventures with, chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa. It is a landmark for everyone to enjoy.’

Description from Hive.co.uk: ‘Those who know Jane Goodall through her many books, speeches, and National Geographic television specials, know she is obviously no ordinary scientist. She is a genuinely spiritual woman who cares passionately about the preservation and enhancement of life in all its forms.Based upon the many spiritual experiences that have graced and shaped her outlook on life, Dr. Goodall is convinced there is a higher purpose to life, and that this purpose can best be served by a sense of reverence for creation- a commitment to opening our hearts and minds to the spiritual ties that bind us to the Earth.In this book, Dr. Goodall takes us through the pivotal events of her life- her childhood in war-torn England, her relationship with the Leakeys, her groundbreaking work with the chimpanzees of Gombe- and in doing so, touches upon such topics as faith and love, mysticism and science, the origins of good and evil and evolution, and the existence of the soul and of God. She sheds light not only on why millions of people today are hungry for meaning, but on the steps we can take to transform our lives for the better; to rekindle our spirits and reawaken our minds.’

View more books by Dr. Jane Goodall on Hive.co.uk

Thank you for reading, have a beautiful day.

~ Faine

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