Dr. Jane Goodall speaks on chimps, determination to Stone Ridge students

Stone Ridge Grades 3 and 4 students participated in a live webchat with Dr. Jane Goodall on Monday, April 20, to learn about Goodall’s work with chimpanzees and conservation. This webchat was organized by TIME for Kids, a news magazine aimed at elementary school-aged children.

During the webchat, Goodall told students she decided at age 10 she wanted to study chimpanzees. She was told only humans have feelings, but she suspected that wasn’t the case. Goodall studied chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa for 55 years.

Goodall also told students about her conservation efforts. Due to deforestation and hunting, chimpanzee habitat is being destroyed and adult chimpanzees killed, leaving young orphans to fend for themselves. To help protect chimpanzees and their habitats, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977. She has been involved in setting up sanctuaries for orphaned chimpanzees and at age 81, still travels 300 days of the year raising awareness for chimpanzees and animal cruelty.

The students also head from a 17 year-old student who is involved with Jane Goodalll’s Roots & Shoots. Roots & Shoots is the youth-led community action and learning program that builds on the legacy and vision of Dr. Jane Goodall to place the power and responsibility for creating community-based solutions to big challenges in the hands of the young people.