jane goodall research paper

Jane Goodall

Ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall redefined what it means to be human and set the standard for how behavioral studies are conducted through her work with wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.

Biology, English Language Arts, Geography, Physical Geography

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Dr. Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, best known simply as Jane Goodall, was born in Bournemouth, England, on April 3, 1934, to Margaret (Vanne) Myfanwe Joseph and Mortimer (Mort) Herbert Morris-Goodall. As a child, she had a natural love for the outdoors and animals. She had a much-loved dog, Rusty, a pony, and a tortoise , to name a few of their family pets. When Jane was about eight she read the Tarzan and Dr. Dolittle series and, in love with Africa, dreamed of traveling to work with the animals featured in her favorite books.

Jane was unable to afford college after graduation and instead elected to attend secretarial school in South Kensington, where she perfected her typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping skills. She retained her dream of going to Africa to live among and learn from wild animals, and so she took on a few jobs including waitressing and working for a documentary film company, saving every penny she earned for her goal. At age 23, she left for Africa to visit a friend, whose family lived on a farm outside Nairobi, Kenya.

In March 1957 Jane boarded a ship called the Kenya Castle to visit her friend and her family. There, Jane met famed paleoanthropologist Dr. Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey, who offered her a job at the local natural history museum. She worked there for a time before Leakey decided to send her to the Gombe Stream Game Reserve (what is today Gombe Stream National Park ) in Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees . He felt her passion for and knowledge of animals and nature, high energy, and fortitude made her a great candidate to study the chimpanzees . Leakey felt that Jane’s lack of formal academic training was advantageous because she would not be biased by traditional thought and could study chimpanzees with an open mind. His hope was that by studying our closest living relatives ( chimpanzees who share a common ancestor with humans) he could discover more about what early humans were like−things he could not learn from fossils alone. They just needed to secure funding for the project.

In December 1958, Jane returned home to England and Leakey began to make arrangements for the expedition , securing the appropriate permissions from the government and raising funds. To prepare for her upcoming expedition Jane moved to London to work in the film library of Granada Television’s film library at the London Zoo where she spent her spare time studying the behavior of primates. In May 1960, Jane learned that Leakey had obtained funding from the Wilkie Brothers Foundation. Permits in hand, she boarded a plane to Nairobi.

Gombe Stream National Park

On July 14, 1960, Jane arrived by boat at the Gombe Stream Game Reserve on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika with her mother−local officials would not allow Jane to stay at Gombe without an escort−and a cook, Dominic.

The early weeks at Gombe were challenging. Jane developed a fever−likely malaria −that delayed the start of her work. Once recovered, the rugged terrain and thick vegetation made traversing the reserve a challenge and often she hiked miles without seeing a chimpanzee .

Finally, an older chimpanzee −whom Jane named David Greybeard, although the practice of naming one’s study subjects was taboo in ethology −began to allow Jane to watch him. As a high ranking male of the chimpanzee community, his acceptance meant other group members also allowed Jane to observe. It was David Greybeard whom Jane first witnessed using tools . She spotted the chimpanzee sticking blades of stiff grass into termite holes to extract termites . Excited, she telegraphed Dr. Leakey about her groundbreaking observation . He wrote back, “Now we must redefine ‘ tool ,’ redefine ‘man,’ or accept chimpanzees as humans.”

During the years she studied at Gombe Stream National Park , she made three observations that challenged conventional scientific ideas: (1) chimps are omnivores , not herbivores and even hunt for meat; (2) chimps use tools ; and (3) chimps make their tools (a trait previously used to define humans). Beyond the significance of her discoveries, it was Jane’s high standard for methods and ethics in behavioral studies may have had the greatest impact in the scientific community.

Jane continued to work in the field and, with Leakey’s help, began her doctoral program without an undergraduate degree in 1962. At Cambridge University , she found herself at odds with senior scientists over the methods she used−how she had named the chimpanzees rather than using the more common numbering system, and for suggesting that the chimps have emotions and personalities. She further upset those in power at the university when she wrote her first book, ‘My Friends, the Wild Chimpanzees ,’ published by National Geographic, aimed at the general public rather than an academic audience. The book was wildly popular, and her academic peers were outraged. Dr. Jane Goodall earned her Ph.D. on February 9, 1966, and continued to work at Gombe for the next twenty years.

Conservation

Jane shifted from scientist to conservationist and activist after attending a primatology conference in 1986, where she noticed all the presenters mentioned deforestation at their study sites worldwide. Jane herself had noticed some signs of deforestation along Lake Tanganyika at Gombe Stream National Park , but nothing significant . Then, in the early 1990s, she flew in a small plane over the park and was shocked to see large-scale deforestation on the other side of the park where local villages were rapidly expanding. Miles of bare hills stretched where once untouched forests had stood. Jane knew that she had to take action to protect the forest and preserve the critical habitat of the chimpanzees .

Her first mission was to improve the conditions for chimpanzees held at medical research facilities. Jane helped set up several refuges for chimps freed from these facilities or those orphaned by the bushmeat trade. She established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) in 1977, a global community-centered conservation organization, and JGI’s program Roots & Shoots in 1991, which encourages young people around the world to be agents of change by participating in projects that protect the environment, wildlife, or their communities. She met with anyone she felt could be key to protecting places like Gombe Stream National Park and species such as her beloved chimpanzees and has been an advocate for protecting animals, spreading peace, and living in harmony with the environment.

Jane is still hard at work today raising awareness and money to protect the chimpanzees, their habitats, and the planet we all share. She travels about 300 days a year giving speeches, talking to government officials and business people around the world encouraging them to support wildlife conservation and protect critical habitats.

“The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.” - Jane Goodall

“Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” - Jane Goodall

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How Jane Changed Science Forever

In 1960, Jane Goodall transformed our understanding of what differentiates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom through the observation that chimpanzees make and use tools. This groundbreaking moment has been referenced time and time again, but what can we learn from Jane’s earliest findings and writings on the subject, and what we continue to discover today?

To set the stage, previous to Jane’s research, non-human animals were presumed to be functioning on an almost mechanical basis and their behavior was thought to be based on ‘preprogrammed’ instinct. In 1875 in his speech to the Royal Institution of Great Britain,  Colonel A Lane Fox, President of the Anthropological Institute decreed: 

“ But who has ever seen any of the lower animals construct a tool and use it?  The conception of man not as a tool using but as a tool-making animal is clear, defined, and unassailable . . .   The ape employs both sticks and stones as missiles and as hammers to crack the shells of nuts.  But we have no evidence that he ever selects special forms for special uses.   It is this which so essentially distinguishes man from the lower creation. Man is the tool using animal. “

Who indeed! This was the prevailing belief – until Jane. In the Fall of 1960, everything changed.

November 6, 1960 –  from Dr. Jane’s field notebook: 

By the termite hill were two chimps, both  male  .   .  .  I could see a little better the use of the piece of straw.  It was held in the left hand, poked  o nto the  g r ound, and then removed coated with termites.  The straw was  then  raised to the mouth and the insects picked off with the lips ,  along the length of the straw, starting in the middle.  

How exciting it is to read in Jane’s own words, her first clear observation of a chimpanzee using a tool to fish for termites.  In 1964, Jane wrote a paper for  Nature , detailing her observation over her first years in Gombe. 

Can you imagine the thrill and excitement she felt as she saw these behaviors for the first time?  This is one of the most significant moments in modern scientific history.  Our belief that humans were the only species capable of manipulating objects and constructing tools came crumbling down and our eyes and minds were opened to the idea that we are not separate from, but connected to, the rest of the animal kingdom.

To me, maybe even more significant were the words she wrote a year earlier in a report for the Zoological Society of London.  Believe it or not, in this earliest of papers, Jane was already developing a theory of non-human culture and the social transmission of behavior.   

The above description is likely one of the first known instances in which the word  culture  was attributed to a non-human species.  This was a completely new concept and these words were met with great criticism within the scientific community.  

Jane continues to expand on these insights: 

“There was thus opportunity for the attention of the infants to be directed to the tools and the way in which they were manipulated, and for them to learn their use by watching and imitation .  It therefore seems probable that the use of sticks, stems and leaves for the specific purposes described here represents a series of primitive cultural traditions passed on from one generation to the next in the Gombe Stream area.  

Through that visionary idea over 56 years ago, a new field of study was born.  Today, generations of scientists are observing tool use and cultural variation in dozens of species all over the planet following in Jane’s footsteps.  How fantastic it is that Jane started it all; and that we now see these beings, previously regarded as ‘lower creatures,’ as spectacular, feeling, thinking, conscious beings who have extraordinary mental and emotional capacity.  How important it is to treat them with the respect and dignity which we ourselves expect.

Want to learn more about groundbreaking science and chimpanzees? Become a Gombe Science Hero today and support the longest running wild chimpanzee study in the world, started by Dr. Goodall continued by the Jane Goodall Institute!

The Jane Goodall Institute is a global community conservation organization that advances the vision and work of Dr. Jane Goodall. By protecting chimpanzees and inspiring people to conserve the natural world we all share, we improve the lives of people, animals and the environment. Everything is connected—everyone can make a difference.

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About Author

Bill Wallauer is a public speaker, scientific advisor and filmmaker for the Jane Goodall Institute. Bill became part of the life at the Jane Goodall Institute's Gombe Stream Research Center in 1989 while on assignment for the U.S. Peace Corps in southern Tanzania. After he captured a wild chimpanzee birth on videotape, Dr. Goodall asked Bill to follow chimps and record their daily activities and behaviors, which he did for the next 15 years. Bill has served as camera operator and scientific advisor for more than 30 productions, including BBC/Animal Planet’s “Chimp Week,” BBC/Discovery’s 10-part series, “Planet Earth," and Disney Nature’s “Chimpanzee.” He also worked on three National Geographic films in 2014 and 15. He shot the closing sequence for the BBC/Discovery's 10-part series, "Planet Earth," and appeared in the Animal Planet special, "Almost Human," with Jane Goodall.

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• Published: 28 March 1964

Tool-Using and Aimed Throwing in a Community of Free-Living Chimpanzees

• JANE GOODALL 1  

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GOODALL, J. Tool-Using and Aimed Throwing in a Community of Free-Living Chimpanzees. Nature 201 , 1264–1266 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2011264a0

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Jane Goodall (*1934): The Great Lady of Primate Research

• First Online: 14 January 2023

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Jane Goodall is the first of the great female scientists featured in this book whom the reader can still see in action in the early 2020s. She was born on 3 April 1934, the same year that Marie Curie died, and at over 80 she is still going on lecture tours. For thirty years, the primatologist and anthropologist researched the behaviour of wild chimpanzees in Africa, and her findings have forced humanity to rethink its relationship to the animal world. Over forty films and numerous reports have made the name of Jane Goodall world famous.

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Read more at www.britannica.com/explore/savingearth/the-right-jane .

Neale McDevitt, “ It’s Been a Long Journey”, McGill Reporter, 1 October 2019, read at: https://reporter.mcgill.ca/its-been-a-long-journey-jane-goodall-tells-beatty-lecture-audience/ .

Biography , Jane Goodall Institute UK: https://www.janegoodall.org.uk/jane-goodall/biography .

Jane Goodall, Learning from the Chimpanzees: A Message Humans Can Understand , Science, 282 (1998), pp. 2184–2185.

Interview with Liesa Bauer, published in: Spektrum Kompakt, issue 50/2019: Be-/Verkannt - Frauen in der Wissenschaft , available at www.spektrum.de/news/jane-goodall-ein-leben-fuer-die-schimpansen/1545469 .

Jane Goodall, Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, 1986, now available from: Mariner Books (2010).

Available at: www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/jane-goodall-if-my-legs-helped-me-get-publicity-for-the-chimps-well-that-was-useful/ .

Oral statement by Jane Goodall at the Understanding Chimpanzees conference hosted by the Chicago Academy of Sciences , held in Chicago in 1986. Quoted here from: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/17/africa/jane-goodall-conservation/index.html .

Jane Goodall, Through a Window , Mariner Books (1990).

Interview with Alice Winkler for the American Academy of Achievement ’ s “ What it takes ” podcast, 18 May 2018, read at https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-it-takes-jane-goodall/4364308.html .

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Jaeger, L. (2023). Jane Goodall (*1934): The Great Lady of Primate Research. In: Women of Genius in Science . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23926-7_15

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Jane Goodall: ‘The world today is a real mess’

On her 90th birthday, the researcher and activist talks about her legacy and what she still hopes to accomplish.

It’s Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday and, outside, the rain is coming down in buckets. While most people would be put off by the dismal weather, Goodall doesn’t mind. In fact, she welcomes it.

“I love it, I love rain,” the celebrated anthropologist and activist says during a sit-down interview with TODAY.com.

Sitting with her? A small stuffed monkey dubbed “Mr. H,” after Gary Haun, a close friend of Goodall’s who, despite being blinded while serving in the U.S. Marines, refused to let the disability prevent him from fully embracing life.

“He decided to be a magician. Everybody’s (like), ‘You can’t be a magician if you’re blind,’” says Goodall. She explains that Haun not only went on to become a magician, but a skydiver, scuba diver and a painter, too, delivering the message that while something may happen in your life, “Never give up. There’s always a way forward.”

Haun gifted the monkey to Goodall on her 57th birthday, telling her, “Take him where you go and you know my spirit’s with you.” For 33 years, Mr. H has remained by her side.

“He symbolizes the indomitable human spirit,” says Goodall.

‘What’s wrong with us?’

As she has been the majority of her life, Goodall is once more in the public eye and using her global platform to shine the spotlight on environmental issues and what she says is the woeful state of the world.

“The world today is a real mess. Not just because of climate change and loss of biodiversity and intensive farming and poverty, but look at the wars,” says Goodall, who cites ongoing conflicts across the globe.

“What’s wrong with us? We have this amazing intellect and, yet, we are not making a better world,” she explains.

Making a better world, however, is exactly what Goodall has been advocating for since her landmark research with chimpanzees back in the 1960s.

After spending months studying the primates in Tanzania, Goodall discovered that long-held beliefs about the animals — which included the assumption that they were herbivores and far removed from their human counterparts — were patently incorrect and, in fact, were actually sentient beings capable of using tools and exhibiting behaviors that closely matched that of humans.

She’s spent the subsequent decades raising awareness over the ethical treatment of not just chimps, but all animals, as well as being a vocal advocate for environmental responsibility.

In 1977, the activist founded the Jane Goodall Institute to help mobilize the movement, and since then has tirelessly traveled the world over in hopes of bringing about change and inspiring new generations to get involved.

It’s a dream she’s seen realized, in part, through Roots & Shoots, a program that encourages young people to effect change within their communities and the world at large — something she hopes will be part of her legacy.

“This is enabling young people to choose projects to make the world better for people, animals, the environment,” she tells TODAY.com, adding that the initiative is her “greatest hope for the future.”

Along with Roots & Shoots, Goodall says that she’d like to be remembered for changing perceptions around our relationship with animals and helping foster the understanding that humans are “part of and not separate from the animal kingdom.”

“When I first went to get my Ph.D., I was told only humans have personality, mind and emotion. And thanks to the chimpanzees being so biologically like us, that we share 98.7% of our DNA, science gradually came to admit we are not the only sentient sapien beings on the planet,” says Goodall.

“So, now we know, (it’s) not just the apes and the monkeys, but the whales and the dolphins and the elephants and the lions and the crows and the parrots and other birds.”

‘We’ve progressed a great deal’

When asked if humans have made progress in their stewardship of the animal world, Goodall says, “We have a hundred percent moved awareness. All around the world there are now animal welfare groups which weren’t there before. There are more people fighting to help spread the word that animals, like us, have personalities, minds and emotions. So, in that way, we’ve progressed a great deal.”

Even so, Goodall says that awareness hasn’t necessarily translated into meaningful change, citing ongoing sports hunting and the senseless killing of animals, including elephants.

“Elephants are endangered and they’re magnificent. They live long lives and they have close family relationships and they are wise. They’re like whales on land. How can somebody go and shoot one?” she asks.

That said, there has been progress in other areas, including sustainability, which Goodall supports in any number of ways, including a partnership with Brilliant Earth, a company that aims to change how jewelry is crafted and worn by using recycled materials, lab-grown gems and energy-efficient practices.

“I think people don’t understand the products that they’re buying,” says Beth Gerstein, co-founder of Brilliant Earth. Citing the destruction brought on by diamond and gold mining, Gerstein says traditional methods can deeply impact communities and their workers, not to mention the environment.

“If you look at one ring, it creates 20 tons of mining waste with mined gold,” Gerstein says. “Gold is also the leading cause of mercury pollution and that has very devastating effects.”

But through awareness comes change, says Goodall.

“There’s nothing that we can’t do if we start collaborating with organizations that really do care about the future.”

‘It’s not too late to make a difference’

For some, turning 90 would be cause to retire. But not Goodall. The primatologist still travels upwards of 300 days a year, giving talks and continuing her tireless activism for environmental responsibility and advocacy for meaningful change across the planet.

What keeps her going?

“What motivates me is the state of the world, the threat to our young people if we don’t make change. The understanding that if we all get together and take action, it’s not too late to make a difference,” she says.

Goodall also says that she finds strength in connecting with people. “I can walk into an auditorium of 2,000, 5,000 people and the greeting; it just gives me so much energy.”

However, it’s not her only source of inspiration.

“I think I get the energy from some great spiritual power, which people may find crazy to think about, but for me, it works.”

Sarah is a lifestyle and entertainment reporter for TODAY who covers holidays, celebrities and everything in between.

Jane Goodall’s legacy of empathy, curiosity, and courage

As the iconic scientist and activist celebrates her 90th birthday, her message for younger generations is one of hope — and not fearing the next adventure..

Every single one of you has that indomitable spirit. But so many people don’t let it out. They don’t realize the power they have to influence and change the world. And so I’m saying to you, let your indomitable spirit make a difference.

— Jane Goodall, March 30, 2024, at the Moore Theatre in Seattle

The spotlight

Going to see Jane Goodall speak is not unlike going to a sold-out concert of one of your favorite artists. On Saturday, I arrived at the Moore Theatre in downtown Seattle, where the renowned ethologist would be talking about her life and work, to find a queue already wrapping around the block. Eager attendees — mothers and daughters, young couples, and groups of gray-haired friends — took selfies with the theater sign bearing her name. Just days before her 90th birthday (which she celebrates today, April 3), it was clear her place in the cultural landscape has yet to wane.

“I’ve always found this interesting about Jane — because she has spanned so many chapters in her life, depending on an individual’s age, they have a different understanding of who she is,” said Anna Rathmann, executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute . Older people may remember her as the young, beautiful blond scientist who was photographed for National Geographic, sitting with her binoculars in the Tanzanian jungle. Others may be more familiar with her work as a public speaker and advocate for conservation. “And then you talk to some of the youth activists and the younger people, they see her as this mother earth elder figure,” Rathmann said. “They see her for the wisdom that she represents. And I think that’s really powerful.”

Even as she reaches her 10th decade, Goodall has no plans to retire. She has said that she’ll keep up her demanding schedule of traveling and public speaking until her body prohibits her from doing so.

“She’ll frequently get asked by journalists, ‘Oh, Jane, you’ve lived this amazing life, you’ve done all these things, you have all these accolades. What’s your next adventure?’” Rathmann said. “And she’ll kind of sit there contemplatively, and then she’ll go, ‘My next great adventure will be death.’”

As Rathmann noted, this answer is in some ways humorous, and a bit disarming. But it’s also, of course, true. It speaks to Goodall’s genuine curiosity about the world and its natural processes — the throughline of a career that started with that curiosity about the natural world and lasted long enough to turn to the desperate need to protect it.

“There’s some connective tissue there about being deliberate and choosing to not live in fear, to not live in despair,” Rathmann said.

When I made it into the theater, nearly a full hour early, the 1,800-seat auditorium was already bustling. The people who sat behind me remarked on Goodall’s ability to “pack the house.” And just before her talk was scheduled to begin, the crowd launched into a chorus of “Happy Birthday,” followed by a standing ovation when she stepped out to the podium.

“Well, wow. That was an amazing welcome,” Goodall said.

At the start of her talk, she told us that the only way she’s able to deal with such overwhelming public admiration is because there are, as she put it, two Janes. “There’s this one standing here, just a small person walking onto a stage, with feelings like all of you. And then there’s an icon. And it’s the icon that you greeted.”

The sense of adoration for Jane the icon — and the specialness of getting to see her there in person — was almost palpable in the room. If the buzz surrounding the event had some of the atmosphere of a big concert, the talk itself felt like sitting at the feet of your own grandmother, drinking in every word of her stories.

Goodall was dressed mostly in black, with pops of red and and yellow decorating a shawl that almost resembled wings. Her hair was pulled back in its signature ponytail. Once or twice, she shared video clips on the large projector behind her. And near the end of her talk, folk musician Dana Lyons joined her onstage to sing two songs, including a tribute titled “ Love Song to Jane .” But apart from that, the talk was simple and intimate. Just Goodall standing at the podium (yes, standing, the entire time) sharing in her slow, deliberate tone, stories about her life — each one building to a lesson about hope, tenacity, and our duty to the future.

Jane Goodall greets the crowd at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. Claire Elise Thompson / Grist

“I was born loving animals. And I don’t know where that came from. I was just born with it and my mother supported it,” Goodall began. She recalled how her mother took her on holiday to a farm when she was about 4 years old. For two weeks, her job was to collect the eggs from the hen house. But a young, curious Goodall wanted to understand how an egg could come out of a chicken. And so, apparently, she waited in a hen house for about four hours to witness the act — and not knowing where she was, her mother was getting ready to call the police when Goodall reappeared at the house, covered in straw, ecstatic to share the story of how a hen lays an egg.

“When you look back on that story, wasn’t that the making of a little scientist?” Goodall pondered. “A different kind of mother might have crushed that scientific curiosity. And I might not be standing here talking to you now.”

Unable to afford a college education, Goodall trained as a secretary when she was 18 (“which is very boring,” she said), and then waited tables to save money for what had been her dream since childhood: to travel to Africa and study wild animals.

She finally made it from London to Kenya, on a boat ride all the way down around Cape Town that took nearly a month, she said, to groans from the audience. “It was a magic journey,” Goodall added. In Kenya, she met the famous paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who happened to be in need of a secretary. Leakey ultimately arranged Goodall’s first excursion to study chimpanzees in the wild — something no researcher had done before.

When Jane arrived at what is now Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania (accompanied by her “same amazing mom”), it took several more months of patience and determination for her to even get close to the animals. But when they did eventually lose their fear of her, her discoveries, and her approach, rocked the scientific world.

Photos of Goodall and her mother at Gombe — taken by Dutch photographer and nobleman Hugo Van Lawick, whom Goodall later married. JGI / Hugo van Lawick

Chimps are humans’ closest living relatives, and Goodall found that they resemble us in some ways that were surprising and even controversial at the time. Her initial groundbreaking discovery was that chimpanzees make and use tools — something that was thought to be a uniquely human trait. But she observed other similarities as well. Chimpanzees show affection through hugging and kissing. They have complex social relationships and individual personalities. They can be brutally violent toward one another, and they can also be altruistic.

After her initial breakthrough in 1960, Goodall received funding to extend her research in Gombe, which continues to this day as the longest-running field study of chimpanzees. She first had to obtain a Ph.D. at Cambridge, where she was told she had been going about things all wrong. “​​You shouldn’t have named the chimps, they should have numbers, that’s scientific. You can’t talk about them having personalities, minds, or emotions. Those are unique to humans. You can’t have empathy with them because scientists must be objective.” Goodall never argued with her professors, but she considered all this to be “rubbish.”

She went back to Gombe, continuing both as a researcher and the subject of film and photographs that contributed to a shift in the way humans, including scientists, thought about animals and the natural world. “They were the best days of my life,” Goodall said. But then something else shifted.

“I just felt so at home in the forest,” she recounted. “So why did I leave? I left because, at a big conference in 1986, I came to understand the extent of the deforestation going on across Africa.” She also learned about the cruel treatment of chimps being kept in captivity for research. “I went to that conference as a scientist, planning to spend the rest of my life in Gombe. But I left as an activist. I knew I had to do something.”

Jane Goodall with a chimpanzee at the Tchimpounga sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. JGI / Fernando Turmo

Goodall became a speaker, using the public’s interest in her life to share messages of action. She wrote and spoke directly to decision-makers, including the former director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins (and, thanks in part to her advocacy, the NIH ended its use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research in 2015 ). Through the Jane Goodall Institute, she has taken a community-centered approach to conservation and habitat restoration. “Right from the beginning, we went in and asked the people what we could do to help,” Goodall said.

Around this point in her talk, Goodall described how she sees humanity “at the start of a very, very long, very, very dark tunnel. And right at the end of that tunnel is a little star shining. And that’s hope.” The tunnel is climate change. It’s also biodiversity loss, poverty, discrimination, and war, she said, and we’ve got to do what it takes to get ourselves to the light at the end.

Goodall’s stories are largely focused on the earlier parts of her life and career — stories she has probably told hundreds of times before, although that doesn’t lessen their impact. She doesn’t offer reflections about her milestone birthday, or spend much time belaboring warnings about how the world has changed over her decades of work. Although our understanding of the most pressing problems facing the world has changed, Goodall’s message largely hasn’t. The climate crisis is another issue to which Goodall applies her message of agency, empathy, and hope.

“Seeing Jane Goodall filled my cup,” said Darby Graf, a recent college graduate who now works in advocacy and inclusion in higher education. We met on the long journey down the stairs after Goodall’s talk. “There are a lot of things in this life that empty my cup, but hearing her speak filled me with hope. I didn’t know how much I craved that until I started crying partway through her speech.” (This phenomenon is apparently so widespread it is sometimes known as “ the Jane effect .”)

I experienced a version of the Jane effect, too — there is something about Jane Goodall, her gentleness and accessibility, that reaches people emotionally. David Attenborough, who is himself a venerated naturalist turned climate activist, called it “an extraordinary, almost saintly naiveté.”

“Jane has an amazing capacity to view everyone as individuals,” Rathmann said. That has been a theme in her work with animals, but it also guides her approach to advocacy today, Rathmann said. “Because an individual can change their mind. An individual can create a ripple effect. And it’s a profound experience to change one individual who then can change a whole host of others.”

Rathmann added that Goodall never sought out global celebrity. But she has accepted the role of icon and given it her all. “She is keenly aware that there is someone in that audience who needs to hear whatever it is that she has said,” Rathmann said, someone who will then take that experience with them.

Still, on Goodall’s 90th birthday, sitting in the glow of Jane the icon, it’s hard not to think about Jane the human and what she herself views as her next great adventure — and whether there is anyone out there who can pick up the torch with quite the same cultural influence with which she has wielded it.

Climate journalist (and former Grist fellow ) Siri Chilukuri has been a Goodall fan since the third grade, which played a big role in her decision to enter this field. Today, she said, she thinks about “how to make space for more Jane Goodalls in the world.”

“You know, how does that legacy continue? How do those conversations keep happening? How do those rooms keep filling up?” she said. Chilukuri’s reporting has focused on bringing those new voices to the fore, especially the people most impacted by the climate crisis — many of whom are also at the forefront of solutions. “There’s so many people with so many incredible stories to tell that also have to do with understanding how climate change is a threat to our world,” she said. “And those are people that we should be trying to give platforms as well.”

Goodall, for her part, has said that she respects young activists like Greta Thunberg for their anger and confrontational approach to climate activism. Although it stands in stark contrast to her tone, that anger speaks to the era of the climate crisis we are now in — an era very different from the one in which Goodall began her advocacy.

But the Jane Goodall Institute has plans to continue Goodall’s own legacy and voice as well. “Jane will always serve as that inspiration, as that figurehead of the organization,” Rathmann said of the institute’s work. “In terms of, like, 50 years from now, what is the organization? My hope is that it’s honoring Jane’s own life and legacy, having generations engaged in her work who never knew her personally, who never got the opportunity to come and see her speak in person. Several generations from now, I hope that, if we do it right, they will still be inspired and participating in this.”

“Every single one of us matters, has a role to play, makes a difference every single day,” Goodall told the crowd on Saturday. But the closing note of her talk was not about individual agency. It was about collective action.

“I just want to thank you,” she said to the team at the Jane Goodall Institute, the volunteers who support the organization’s mission, and the entire audience — those of us who simply came out to fill the room. “Because it’s together that we can make this a better world. We’ve got to get together to make a difference, now, before it’s too late.”

— Claire Elise Thompson

More exposure

• Read: a charming recap and Q&A with Jane after her birthday celebration with 90 dogs on Carmel Beach in California (New York Times)
• Read: an article about Goodall’s recent work, and how she kept it alive during the pandemic (The Irish Times)
• Watch: Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope , a documentary now playing in select theaters
• Listen: to the Jane Goodall Hopecast

A parting shot

One of Goodall’s proudest legacies is Roots & Shoots , an initiative of the Jane Goodall Institute that aims to empower young people to be environmental leaders in their communities. The program is active in at least 75 countries — although, Rathmann noted, it’s difficult to get a complete picture of the scope because the program is grassroots in nature. Here, Goodall joins a group of youngsters releasing baby sea turtles in Santa Marta, Colombia.

IMAGE CREDITS

Vision: Grist

Spotlight: Claire Elise Thompson / Grist; JGI / Hugo van Lawick; JGI / Fernando Turmo

Parting shot: Roots & Shoots Colombia

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Glorious nature photographs honor the impact of Jane Goodall

Ninety influential female photographers took part in the campaign.

By PopSci Staff | Published Apr 6, 2024 8:02 AM EDT

• Environment

On April 3, renowned ethnologist Dr. Jane Goodall celebrated her 90th birthday. Goodall’s impactful work studying chimpanzees spans more than 60 years and inspired generations of scientists, conservationists, and photographers. To celebrate Goodall’s birthday and her lasting influence, Vital Impacts and the Jane Goodall Institute have launched a joint campaign highlighting 90 trailblazing female photographers .

“There’s no one else in the world who has done more to shape humanity’s perspective on the planet, its wildlife, and our interconnectedness than Jane Goodall,” photographer and Vital Impacts founder Ami Vitale said. “Her legacy literally spans continents, generations, and cultures, and she has created a global movement of stewardship and compassion. Jane’s legacy isn’t just about studying chimpanzees; it’s about breaking down barriers, fostering empathy, and fostering a deeper connection with nature. Her spirit lives on in every one of us who has been touched by her words.  She inspires us all to make a positive difference in the world.”

As part of the “The Nature of Hope: 90 Years of Jane Goodall’s Impact” campaign, Vital Impacts will host a photography sale featuring the work of female photographers inspired by Goodall. Proceeds for the sale will benefit the Jane Goodall Institute’s global chapter.

“Photographers in the conservation landscape are a window to the world; and women who come together are a force—the combo is a great way to create awareness about the beauty of the planet we live on,” photographer Karine Aigner said. “This project not only supports, empowers and uplifts female creatives, it allows the public to participate in hope, and it gives back to conservation—what better way to celebrate a birthday and a cause?!”

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A Conversation With…

Jane Goodall Is More of a Dog Person, Actually

Dr. Goodall, who is best known for her work with chimpanzees, recently celebrated her forthcoming 90th birthday with as many dogs and explained why she isn’t slowing down.

By Darren Incorvaia

Darren Incorvaia interviewed Dr. Goodall in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif., after attending the pup-filled beach gathering in her honor.

Jane Goodall is turning 90 on April 3 and the primatologist-turned-activist seems busier than ever. This year, she’ll be on the road for 320 days. She’ll be raising money for her nonprofit organizations, the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots, and encouraging people to take environmental action.

But she is still managing to find time for fun. On Saturday, revelers congregated on the beach here for a 90-dog salute. Hosted by the Wildlife Conservation Network, a nonprofit, and its founder, Charles Knowles, the event saw guests’ Great Danes, goldendoodles, chihuahuas and other dogs bound across the sand in honor of Dr. Goodall, who has said that dogs are her favorite animal (although she is best known for her work on chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania).

On-and-off rain briefly lifted just as Dr. Goodall arrived, which one attendee, Jeff Horowitz, attributed to a phenomenon called “Jane Magic.”

After the canine salute, Dr. Goodall talked with The New York Times. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I first want to get your thoughts on what just occurred on the beach. I will confess that a dog salute is not something I’d heard of before.

It’s never been thought of before. You know, it didn’t go as they planned it. What they planned was at the end, the dogs would file past me and we’d have a photo. That was the salute. But the rain came. So actually it was much better the way it was. I don’t think anything like that’s ever been done. Never.

Does that feel special?

Oh, it’s amazing. This tour is my 90th birthday year tour around the world and there are events everywhere. We’ve got 25 Jane Goodall Institutes in different countries, and they all make use of my birthday. They do events, they can make money and do auctions. And because it’s Jane’s 90th, big deal — for them. This was the only event I really, really looked forward to in the whole year. And it was as good as I could have imagined.

How do you think it would have gone if it’d been a 90-chimp salute instead?

It would have been a disaster. I wouldn’t have come.

The world knows you best for your research on chimpanzees, but I know you want to talk about dogs, and especially your childhood dog, Rusty. When you left Africa to get your doctorate, what was it about that relationship with a pet that helped you understand primate behavior?

Here I am registered at Cambridge, and very nervous. First thing, I was told that I’ve done everything wrong. Chimps shouldn’t be named, they should be numbered. You can’t talk about their personalities. You can’t talk about them having brains capable of solving problems. And you certainly can’t talk about them having emotions. You cannot be scientifically objective if you have empathy with your subject.

Well, the last I just knew was wrong. But the first three — personality, mind, emotion — my dog Rusty, when I was a child, taught me that was absolute piffle. Balderdash. Rubbish.

What about Rusty showed you that old ways of thinking about animals were wrong?

Probably any dog would have taught me. We all know that they can be happy, sad, fearful and that they’re highly intelligent. Rusty, I’ve never known a dog like him. He didn’t even belong to us. This is the strange thing, like so much of my life. He belonged to a hotel down the road. He used to come along, bark outside our house at 6 in the morning, get let in, stay with us all morning, go home for lunch, come back and leave when we put him out at 10. The hotel knew, they couldn’t have cared less. It was as though he was sent to me.

Sent to you by who?

[Dr. Goodall pointed up.] What I was talking to, saying, “Please don’t let it rain on the whole afternoon today.”

How do you feel about being labeled an icon?

I was walking through the market in Santa Fe. This couple came up, and the woman said something nobody’s ever said since, thank God. She said, “Are you Jane Goodall?” I said yes. She said, “Can I touch you?” Imagine. I said, well, we could shake hands.

The media have created an icon. The only way I can cope, and it took a while, was to think there’s two Janes. This one — the one you saw on the beach with the dogs — and the icon. I have a jolly hard job keeping up with the icon, I can tell you. At first, I put dark glasses on and let my hair down; they still recognized me. Then I realized, for what I’m trying to do, I need to use this.

Was your decision to focus on activism and advocacy a way to take control of the image that the news media was constructing and use it to do good in the world?

Sort of. Right at the beginning, the media was not very kind. When my first information about Gombe came out, about tool-using, there were scientists saying, “Why should we believe her, she hasn’t been to college, she’s just a girl.”

The thing was, I never wanted to be a scientist. Because when I was growing up, women weren’t scientists. Articles began writing and saying, “Jane Goodall is only recognized because she’s on the cover of National Geographic. And she’s only on the cover of National Geographic because she’s got good legs.”

So for me, what did I want to do? I wanted to get back to the chimps and go on learning about them. So if it’s my legs that have got me this position, thank you, legs.

When you ramped up your conservation activism in 1986, were you concerned about an increase in media attention, given this history?

Because I knew what I was supposed to do.

One of the few people who has criticized me recently was Elon Musk . He was critical of what I always say about human population growth as one of the things that we have to think about when we want to protect the planet for future generations. I invented “Voluntary Population Optimization.” Could you criticize that? Voluntary? And optimizing? I talked about V.P.O. and I never got heckled, I never got any problem.

There are worries, though, on the other end of the spectrum, about human overpopulation concerns being turned into involuntary population control.

You must never use control. Never. Control is wrong. You can’t control people like that. It has to be voluntary.

Around Gombe, we introduced this program, TACARE, to help people find ways of living without destroying the environment. It includes restoring fertility to overused farmland without chemicals, and then we introduced scholarships to give girls a chance at secondary education. And also family planning.

So family planning for you is connected to lifting people out of poverty.

And giving women the power to choose for themselves how many children they have.

I’m curious about your packed, worldwide birthday tour. I don’t think I would have the energy for this, and you’ve been traveling extensively for decades.

At your age, I wouldn’t have had the energy. No way. You realize when you get to 90, I don’t know where the end will be, but I’m obviously closer to it than I was when I was 70. Much closer than when I was 60.

But if you feel you have a mission to try and get more people to understand we need to take action, and that your individual action will make a difference, then there’s so much of the world that hasn’t had this message. Instead of slowing down, what can I do but speed up?

One former high school teacher told me she stumbled on the dog salute by accident. But she got the chance to chat with you, and she was ecstatic.

It can sound kooky, I know, but things have happened in my life that look like coincidences, but I don’t think were. And I personally think every person comes into this world with a role to play.

When I look back over my life, I mean, my goodness, the coincidences that led me to the path where I am now were quite clearly points where I could have said yes or no. It depends whether you think there’s just this life or something beyond, I happen to think there’s something beyond. I feel I was born with a mission. Right now, that mission is to give people hope. So when I get exhausted, I look up there and say: “You put me in this position, you bloody well help me get through the evening.”

Each evening in her tent, researcher Jane Goodall would write up data from her field notebooks, recounting the chimpanzee behavior she observed that day. Immerse yourself in a replica of Jane’s research camp at “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall,” an exhibition organized by National Geographic and the Jane Goodall Institute. The exhibition is open at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT from December 7, 2023 through May 27, 2024. Photo by Hugo Van Lawick, Jane Goodall Institute

Inspired by Jane: A Winning Essay

By mark johnston.

In celebration of Dr. Jane Goodall's 90th birthday on April 3, and in conjunction with our current special exhibition, Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall , NHMU hosted an essay contest to inspire a new generation of visionaries among Utah's 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Titled Inspired by Jane , the contest invited contestants to share the positive impact they hope to make in the world by the time they turn 90 years old. 

With the contest running only a couple of weeks, 293 submissions were received from students all around Utah offering a colorful variety of visions of change. From space farming to saving the dwindling Great Salt Lake, the essays delivered assurances of hope from hundreds of young voices inspired by icons like Jane Goodall. Selecting a winner was no easy task, but eventually a consensus was reached among judges and on March 18 a winner was notified. 

Lily Peterson, a 7th grader from Mountain Heights Academy, submitted a moving essay that was awarded the top prize for thoughtfully addressing a local ecological issue in a manner influenced by Jane Goodall. In her submission, Lily shared how she was moved by the sight of wild mustangs enduring the challenges of their environment in Utah's West Desert, along with those they faced from inhumane population control methods. From that moment, Lily decided to pursue a career as an equine veterinarian to deliver more humane methods of population control to these majestic animals. 

Photo by Eliza Petersen

As the contest winner, Lily was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Seattle, Washington, where she met Jane Goodall in person after attending one of her lectures at the Moore Theater on March 30, 2024. Lily also received a $1,000 college savings certificate from the my529 Educational Savings Plan , a VIP visit to the Becoming Jane exhibition at NHMU (which is open through May 27, 2024), and a gift basket of Jane Goodall keepsakes from the Museum Store.

Following Lily's meet and greet with Jane, she recounted her admiration for her real-life superhero. 

“I admire her because of all she has done as a scientist, conservationist, and activist. As an animal lover I am thankful that she has proven that animals have feelings and emotions too," Lily said. "I loved being able to talk with her one on one about her own childhood experience with horses. It was so special to meet someone who worked so hard to make their own big childhood dreams come true. It is a moment I will never forget, and for which I am very thankful.” 

Read Lily's complete essay below.

Congratulations, Lily!

By Lily Peterson

For my seventh birthday, we took a trip out to see the Onaqui herd of wild mustangs. We searched for hours to find them, but it wasn’t until we were driving back along the desolate road that we spotted a small band of about nine horses out in the distance. Even though we kept our distance, I could feel the gentleness and protection the older horses showed towards their young. All these horses ever wanted was to survive the harsh desert and teach their young how to do the same. Throughout the years, these innocent wild horses have faced many challenges including roundups that often end with dead horses, being shipped off to slaughterhouses, and being shot for no reason. By my 90th birthday, I hope to impact the lives of wild mustangs so they can live on the range without the threat of being taken from their home or shot on any given day. 

In the history of the West, there has been a feud between ranchers and wild horse activists over where the mustangs should live. As the cattle industry grew it demanded more land for grazing, which the American government happily supplied, choosing to support cattle ranching rather than protect the wild mustangs. In the 19th century, an estimated two million wild mustangs roamed America’s plains, and that number dropped to 17,000 by 1971. (Moretti). The choice doesn’t have to be ranching or wild mustangs; there are ways for the two to coexist. Mustangs deserve to stay. Humans caused the problem, and humans should fix it. 

Wild horse activists have been working since the mid 1900s when Wild Horse Annie brought attention to the problems facing wild mustangs to the public. She hoped to find ways that cattle ranchers could live in harmony with the mustangs. One of the best solutions that has been suggested for mustang population control is the humane administration of birth control to some of the wild mares. This would allow the birth of wild horses each year but on a smaller scale. We cannot, however, have untrained people administering birth control to untamed horses. 

Equine veterinarians are best equipped to administer birth control, and I plan to become one of them when I grow up. Many horse-crazy girls have a copy of Black Beauty ,  but next to my copy, I have the Merck Veterinary Manual, which I received for my tenth birthday. I have also completed an online class in equine welfare and management through UC Davis. I want to become a veterinarian because I will be better equipped to advocate for the use of humane birth control if I am a trained veterinarian. When I am a veterinarian, I will also be able to assist in the administration of birth control. 

Wild mustangs are an important part of our country, and by my 90th birthday, I want to provide wild mustangs with the opportunity to thrive in their homeland, unharmed by the human populations around them. If we were to take steps to protect the wild mustangs, it would show that we as a people care about more than just our own needs. Dr. Jane Goodall inspires me because she demonstrates the importance of understanding other creatures and protecting them and their environment. We are all interconnected, and like Dr. Goodall, we can strive to make the world safe for all living creatures.  

Moretti, Laura. “History of America's Wild Horses | American Wild Horse Campaign.” American Wild Horse Conservation , https://americanwildhorse.org/history-americas-wild-horses. Accessed 5 March 2024.

Becoming Jane

Visit Becoming Jane at NHMU before it closes after May 27, 2024, to learn more about Jane Goodall's incredible career, from scientific research, to animal conservation, to inspiring a new generation of visionaries through programs like Roots & Shoots. The exhibit is included with museum admission.

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Vital Impacts celebrates Jane Goodall with 90 days of photography

By Caterina De Biasio

By a fortunate coincidence, Jane Goodall's birthday aligns with our Global open call, 'Tree of Life: A Love Letter to Nature,' which this year centers on the relationship between humans and animals—an enduring theme in Goodall's work. To inspire artists on this crucial topic, we partnered with Ami Vitale , who shared her poignant photographs on our Instagram account , highlighting the urgent need for a renewed connection with our planet.

Celebrating Jane Goodall's 90th birthday, Vital Impacts , founded by Ami Vitale and Eileen Mignoni, has begun showcasing the works of 90 outstanding female environmental photographers, from April 1st continuing the next 90 days. Vital Impacts is a women-led non-profit that supports individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting Earth and its ecosystems through art and storytelling. Vital Impacts launched this initiative to honor Jane Goodall and her pivotal role in conserving our planet and promoting a new relationality between humans and Nature. Goodall has built a vast and interconnected community to increase awareness about environmental issues, with a particular emphasis on empowering the youth. We asked Ami Vitale some questions about Jane Goodall's legacy, the power of empathy and interconnectedness, and some advices for those who dream to become photographers.

Ami Vitale, Back to the Wild.

Hua Yan (Pretty Girl), a two-year-old female, is one of the world's most endangered animals. She was released into the wild after being born in captivity at the Wolong Nature Reserve managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province, China. And as she trundled off into the wild, she took hope for her entire species with her.

The slow and steady incline in the population of Giant Pandas is a testament to the perseverance of conservationists. China may be on its way to successfully saving its most famous ambassador and in the process put the wild back into an icon.

National Geographic Magazine photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale spent three years working on a story about the slow and steady incline in the population of Giant Pandas in China.

Follow Ami on Instagram @amivitale

Jane Goodall continues to be an inspiration for those who fight to protect Earth and its inhabitants. What do you consider to be her most significant contributions?

There's no one else in the world who has done more to shape humanity's perspective on the planet, its wildlife, and our interconnectedness than Jane Goodall. Jane carries compassion and love wherever she travels, and her tireless efforts have left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of millions.  Her legacy literally spans continents, generations, and cultures, and she has created a global movement of stewardship and compassion.

Jane’s legacy isn’t just about studying chimpanzees; it’s about breaking down barriers, fostering empathy, and fostering a deeper connection with nature. Her spirit lives on in every one of us who has been touched by her words.  She inspires us all to make a positive difference in the world.

This project celebrates nature while embracing the unique perspective of the female gaze. Do you believe that the feminine perspective could contribute to the environmental cause? Can it foster a more equitable, inclusive, and interconnected approach to nature conservation, promoting a vision of harmony and equality?

When we talk about the environment, I would not attribute the current global paradigm solely to gender dynamics but I do think we need to work toward a future founded on collaboration rather than dominance, empathy rather than exploitation, and interconnectedness rather than division. By valuing and integrating a multitude of perspectives into environmental discourse and action, we can cultivate a vision that ultimately, is not only more effective but also more just, compassionate, and resilient.

In a world often dominated by men, you've chosen to initiate a collective project featuring female photographers united under a common cause. What challenges have you faced as a woman in your profession, and what advice would you offer to a young girl aspiring to work in this field?

I did not become a photographer right away. I began my career as an editor. I dreamed of being a photographer but the people hiring could only envision me at a desk job. I was a young woman and the folks out taking the shots were mainly men with a few remarkable exceptions.  In each of the jobs I had in the beginning, I was pigeonholed and felt stuck for many years but I always had a dream. I was aware that there was this ladder to climb and the obvious path available to me as a young woman did not include being a photographer.  I remember showing work to supervisors and editors, with the dream of one day being a photojournalist, but those dreams were quickly dismissed. Yet I knew I had to try because even if I failed, I would never regret trying.  It was tough, especially in the beginning. I was told that I did not belong and endured physical threats and abuse but like every single human being, I am much stronger than it may have looked from the outside.

By Daniel Rodríguez Gordillo

By PhotoVogue

My advice to young people aspiring to work in this field is to tune out the voices that try to discourage you.  Believe in yourself, educate yourself, find role models and build a support system, challenge stereotypes, be persistent, create your own opportunities, and get comfortable with discomfort! Walk towards the things that seem uncomfortable. Life is filled with rejections and the key is not letting it stop you.

In addition, some of the photographers participating in the initiative shared their thoughts with us.

Michelle Valberg, a wildlife photographer from Canada: “Through her lens and unwavering dedication, Jane has not only captured the essence and importance of the natural world but she has also empowered women across the globe to embrace their passion for conservation and photography. She reminds us of the profound impact women can have in the preservation of our planet's precious biodiversity. She is an iconic hero of all time.  I am honoured to be a part of Vital Impacts important work and dedication to the Goodall movement.”

Michelle Valberg, Spirit Bear Barney.

This is Barney. It was the first known sighting of this Spirit bear within the Great Bear Rainforest. The tide was low, he had climbed down a steep mountain to eat the barnacles off the rocky shoreline. He was as interested in us as we were of him.

For over 38 years Michelle Valberg's, has chronicled significant moments that convey national and international impact – from portraits and landscapes to her conservation work documenting numerous wildlife species at risk. Known for her unique ability to create relatable images of unimaginable landscapes and wild creatures, Valberg finds art in all of nature’s most intimate moments. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 2022 and won the wildlife gold medal at the World Photographic Cup in Rome.

Follow Michelle on Instragram @michellevalbergphotography.

Tshepo Phokoje, Botswana: “The importance of having women in the nature and biodiversity conservation field helps to encourage the younger generations, more especially girls, to see it as not just a hobby but to urge them to also contribute to the visual storytelling. It is through the stories we share of our experiences and perspectives as women, that more people will be sensitised. This can hopefully yield a positive mindset change at a global level and once the minds are changed by the efforts of women, a lot of good will be inevitable. In Setswana they say “Mosadi ke thari ya sechaba” and the meaning of this is that a woman is the mother of the nation. Women are only stepping into their rightful position by sharing their own stories.”

Karine Aigner: "Photographers in the conservation landscape are a window to the world; and women who come together are a force—the combo is a great way to create awareness about the beauty of the planet we live on.  This project not only supports, empowers and uplifts female creatives, it allows the public to participate in hope, and it gives back to conservation—what better way to celebrate a birthday and a cause?!."

Deanne Fitzmaurice, Pulitzer prize winning photographer from USA: "I am so honored to be part of this celebration of trailblazer Jane Goodall. She has been an inspiration to a generation of women to go out into the world and do work that makes a difference."

It is possible to contribute to the cause by accessing the sale here .

Luisa Dorr, Brenda and Her Mother.

Brenda and her mother are Aymara Pollera women from La Paz.

Brenda started skateboarding 6 years ago and felt that this activity could give her direction, something to learn that would stimulate her to drop her fears and get out of her comfort zone. She says - ""It makes me feel capable because I can break my own limits and I can dare to do things that I have never thought about, and like this, I can get over my daily fear."" She is a member of Imilla Skate group. The word Imilla means “young girl” in Aymara and Quechua, the most widely spoken Native languages. Their skirts, known as polleras, celebrate ties to their Indigenous ancestry.

Luisa Dörr (b. 1988, Brazil) uses portraiture to create narratives that explore the feminine human landscape. Her work has been exhibited widely and published in TIME, National Geographic, The New York Times, GEO, and others. She is currently working on long-term projects related to women and cultural traditions.

Follow Luisa on Instagram @luisadorr.

Tiina Itkonen, Qimmit, Savissivik, North West Greenland, 2018. Limited Edition.

Qimmit, Savissivik, North West Greenland, 2018

From the series Piniartoq, a collaboration with polar scientist Dr. Kristin Laidre and

science writer Susan McGrath.

Inuit hunters in North West Greenland still travel by dog sleds in winter. Hunting seal, walrus, and other Arctic animals is still a vital part of life there and a main source of food for many households.

Tiina Itkonen, a photographer from Finland, has been documenting Greenland and its inhabitants for thirty years. She has traveled more than 1,500 kilometres along the west coast of Greenland by dogsled, fishing scow, sailboat, oil tanker, cargo ship, helicopter and small plane. Since 2017 she has been documenting the traditional life of the Inuit hunters and their families and collaborated on this project with American polar scientist Dr. Kristin Laidre and science writer Susan McGrath.

Itkonen has been exhibiting internationally since 2004 and has published two books of photographs. Her works are featured in collections including NYPL, Anchorage Museum, Moderna Museet, DZ-Bank Collection, as well as numerous private collections throughout Europe, USA and Asia. Itkonen was awarded Finnish State Prize for Photographic Art in 2019.

Itkonen is part of the exhibition “The Awe of the Arctic: A Visual History” at the New York Public Library until 13 July 2024.

Follow Tiina on Instagram @tiinaitkonen

On The Red Carpet

'jane' documentary screening held at la's greek theatre in honor of jane goodall's 90th birthday.

LOS ANGELES -- A special 90th birthday celebration was held Wednesday for legendary scientist Dr. Jane Goodall.

National Geographic held a screening of the documentary, "Jane," at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by National Geographic's Bertie Gregory and featured a musical performance from Andy Grammer.

"Jane" includes over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage of Dr. Goodall conducting her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees.

"Jane Goodall is an extraordinary human being because she revolutionized the way that we think about, not just chimpanzees, but the natural world as a whole," Gregory said. "She did it in a time when she was in an incredibly male-dominated field, and a lot of our interpretations of the natural world were male skewed, and it turns out we had it all wrong."

The event was part of Disney and National Geographic's ourHOME campaign to coincide with Earth Month.

"Jane" can be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu.

Disney is the parent company of National Geographic and this station.

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• ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
• LOS ANGELES
• DOCUMENTARY
• ON THE RED CARPET

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