By Bobby Myers
Childhood is one of the most memorable times in our lives. As a girl, Jane Goodall dreamed with the ambition of a man in the shadows of World War II. She dreamed of studying animals in the wilds of Africa and her early work involved observing chickens laying eggs and keeping a nature notebook.
As a boy, I dreamed of becoming a zoologist or paleontologist. After a failed attempt at becoming a Pterodactyl, I shifted my focus to pretending my animal toys were surviving the arid droughts of summer, or the flood that was the swollen storm drain after summer rain.
By the time I learned I couldn’t fly, Jane Goodall had discovered chimpanzees utilized primitive tools, from the stripped twigs they made to fish termite mounds to crumbled leaf sponges for drinking water. She had revolutionized science by naming her subjects, instead of numbering them. She asserted chimpanzees are beings complete with personalities, emotions, lifelong bonds, and even possess the capability for war. In summation, Jane Goodall redefined “man.”
On the playground I played as Captain Planet – but Jane Goodall was Captain Planet. Nearly a decade before I was born, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, a global conservation effort rooted in local communities. The year I tried to fly, she founded Roots and Shoots, a program designed to engage youth and develop nine compassionate traits, including empathy, optimism, and hope.
The seeds of hope were integral to the message Goodall traveled with 300 days per year. She reminded listeners that hope is an intentional commitment and effort, not a passive act. She delivered that message to world leaders and officials, inspired advocates and youth, for the rest of her life.
Jane Goodall’s work touched countless lives, mine immeasurably. I wrote my first research paper about Jane Goodall and the chimpanzees, along with Dian Fossey and the gorillas and Biruté Galdikas and the orangutans – “The Trimates.”
While I didn’t grow up to become a zoologist after all, I remained inspired by and looked to Jane Goodall for hope. I know I am not alone. So let us honor her legacy through our efforts. Share her work, her wisdom, her books and documentaries, and her voice. Let us be active and intentional. Through our efforts we may become greater stewards of our planet, and we may find Jane Goodall’s indomitable human spirit in ourselves.