Institute Maintains Research Efforts
In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute. The Institute supports the continuing research at Gombe and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and the Roots & Shoots education program, which has 8,000 registered groups in more than 95 countries.
In 1986, after a conference session with startling news about deforestation and the rapid dwindling of chimpanzee populations across Africa, Goodall realized she would have to leave her beloved Gombe and begin working to save chimpanzees. She continues this work today, traveling an average 300 days per year to visit school children and speak in packed auditoriums about the threats facing chimpanzees, other environmental crises, and her reasons for hope that humankind will ultimately solve the problems it has imposed on the earth. Goodall continually urges her audiences to recognize their personal responsibility and ability to effect change through consumer action, lifestyle change, and activism. "Every individual counts," she says. "Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference."
Goodall also emphasizes the interconnectedness of all life. The Roots & Shoots program embodies this principle by encouraging member groups to undertake service learning projects benefiting people, animals, and the environment.
Flint with young researcher Jane Goodall.
© Jane Goodall Institute