Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall and chimpanzee in Gombe National Park (http://www.bhsu.edu/bh/news/currents/2006/issue_13/index.html)

Selfless, motivated, passionate, and intelligence, are all words that portray a unique hero by the name of Jane Goodall. Jane Goodall may be one of the most inspiring figures in my life because of the numerous qualities that make her who she is. She is a passionate human being with a set goal in mind. Goodall was able to dream big but at the same time put her plans to action. She is a hero that motivates both myself and many others in the world to reach for our dreams and our aspirations. Jane Goodall is my hero.

Jane Goodall was born on April 3, 1934 in London, England. She was brought up in a middle class family. At age two Jane Goodall was given a stuffed animal that represented a chimpanzee. She immediately took a liking to it and was from then on out interested in animals. However, later at age eleven she became more interested in animals that specifically lived in Africa. It was finally in 1957, at the age of 23, that Goodall had made her first move by traveling to Mombasa Africa to study under Louis Leakey. There she helped gather research on the origin of early human species using primates like monkeys, chimpanzees, and orangutans that closely resembled human beings. She then traveled to Gombe National Park in Tanzania at the age of 26. She was able to make many new and amazing discoveries about chimpanzee behavior and social relations through her careful observations and patience. Through her research Jane was able to change the world's perception of chimpanzees forever, instead of them being considered physical and aggressive; chimpanzees became known as animals that were very much loving, careful, and intelligent.  Jane Goodall later went onto found the Gombe Stream Research Center which helped in further observation of chimpanzee behavior and was a place where graduate students could come to learn more about these beautiful animals.

Through her dedication, motivation, interest, intelligence, and passion Jane Goodall was able to accomplish many feats that have changed this world. She continues to inspire myself and others around the globe to follow what we are passionate about and to perhaps like her, one day change the world too. Jane Goodall is overall a wonderful role model, environmentalist, and human being doing things to make our world a better place through the goodness of her heart and the passion that she possesses.

However, in 1977 a devastating issue had arisen, there had been the occurrence of deforestation in many parts of the world most that had targeted Africa. Goodall was first to tackle this issue by setting up the Jane Goodall Institute that was able to help fight deforestation by spreading the word of conserving the habitat of wildlife and their populations. The Jane Goodall Institute is a nonprofit institute that accepts donations from people around the world to fulfill their mission.  Goodall has traveled all around the world giving speeches on this issue and has also traveled to areas affected by the tragedy to help. Even to this very day she strives to end deforestation that is unfortunately affecting our environment even now. Along with her work with chimpanzee behavior and efforts to stop deforestation, Jane Goodall has also helped set boundaries for animal testing, especially on chimpanzees, who are used in laboratories for experimentation. She later went on to work with zoos to improve the lifestyles of animals kept captive. In 1986 she founded the Committee for the Conservation and Care of Chimpanzees that was dedicated to focusing on these issues. Jane's hard work and efforts have paid off through the years earning her awards and honors like the Gold Medal of Conservation from the San Diego Zoological Society, the J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize, the National Geographic Society Centennial Award, and many more.

Jane Goodall's many accomplishments inspire me every day to make good decisions, whether it's recycling paper that I have used or even thinking twice about if I should use the paper bags at the grocery store or instead use my reusable bags. Moreover so, she has taught me to be passionate about the things I choose to do in life and to work hard towards my dreams because there will always be a positive outcome if you do so. "If you really want something, and really work hard, and take advantage of opportunities, and never give up, you will find a way."-JANE GOODALL. Her actions and words not only influence me, but it also seems to have a big impact on others around the world and the environment. Each year both her foundations and her heart seems to grow and make a larger impact on the environment and the people of the world while she advocates for this change. She even reaches out to the people who live in poverty throughout Africa through both the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots and Shoots Global Youth Program, which helps young people to learn about problems in their communities and the world and then take action toward solving those problems.