Jane Goodall

Primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has dedicated her life to conservation. Born with a natural affinity towards animals, she’s spent over 50 years studying chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Over the years she’s become a spokesperson for all animals and natural environments.

She’s currently running a campaign called ‘They’re Calling On You’, which urges Australians to recycle mobile phones in order to help save gorilla habitat in Africa. Colton (a mineral used to make mobile phones) is being mined illegally, with drastic effects on forests. The campaign coincides with The Year of the Gorilla, of which Jane is the patron. “The high price of coltan on international markets has greatly increased the drive to mine this mineral by any means possible, and this is having catastrophic results for gorilla habitats in Central Africa,” she says.

Jane’s story is a fascinating one, and well-worth listening to. You can listen to Jane’s conversation with Richard Fidler on 702’s The Conversation Hour from late last year. Her dedication and determination is inspirational, and the endearing stories about the chimpanzees will make you smile. Of course, if you’re interested in the environment, and what some are doing to improve it, you’ll find it particularly touching. “Each one of us makes a difference every single day,” she says. “We cannot help impacting the world around us and those of us fortunate enough can make decisions and make a difference.”

• For more details on ‘They’re Calling On You’ and the easy and free way to recycle your mobile phone click here
• Visit the Jane Goodall Institute of Australia website

If you’re keen to hear more from Jane, here are two videos I found. The first is a short documentary with a couple of interviews, the second is Jane giving a talk at a TED conference

back to top