In her conversation with Bill Moyers, Jane Goodall describes her best hope for the future — the work her Institute does with youth around the globe in the Roots and Shoots program.
“[It] began with 16 high school students in ’91. And it emerged from Tanzania as a very new sort of thing at the U.N. — that was ’93, I think. And that’s when it started to grow. So that it’s now 114 countries, all ages. Preschool through university. And more and more adults are taking part in prisons, staff of big corporations and it’s basically two, three projects to make the world better: One for your own human community; two, for animals, including domestic ones; and three, for the environment. With a theme of learning to live in peace and harmony among ourselves, between cultures and religions and nations. And between us and the natural world. So, youth drives it. They choose the projects.”
Among the current Roots and Shoots projects addressing the environment are the following:
- Tchimpounga Youth Campaign: The Roots and Shoots National Youth Leadership Council has worked with groups worldwide to raise awareness and the $50,000 needed to build an orphan chimp dormitory at the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Sanctuary in the Republic of Congo.
- ReBirth the Earth: The Trees for Tomorrow Campaign is helping Roots and Shoots members in Tanzania start five new tree nurseries while encouraging groups in the United States and other countries to take action by planting native trees in their own communities. Through the hard work and dedication of Roots & Shoots, to date the Earth Trees for Tomorrow Campaign has planted more than 3,000 trees and raised over $10,000 to support tree nurseries in Tanzania.
- Reusable Bags: Without any special skills, time commitment or radical lifestyle change, anybody can make a difference for our environment by using reusable bags in place of disposable ones.
- The Giant Peace Dove Campaign: Roots and Shoots members participate in the annual United Nations event designed to draw attention to the international desire for peace by planning group projects that promote peace and by “flying” Giant Peace Dove puppets made out of recycled materials.