Dr. Jane Goodall brings message of hope to Oakland community

Dr. Jane Goodall has long stood as an internationally prominent primatologist and anthropologist, as well as a conservationist, author, and UN Messenger of Peace. Last evening, she brought her message of hope to a sold-out lecture to the Oakland University community.

For the past several decades, Dr. Goodall has transcended her role as the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees and has achieved cultural icon status. 

The event featured Dr. Goodall sharing stories and experiences from her life, from her childhood dreams of going to Africa to her first breakthrough with the chimpanzee she named David Greybeard. From those early days to her new book, “Sowing the Seeds of Hope,” Dr. Goodall encouraged the audience to look more carefully at the world and their own use of natural resources. 

With global climate change, an ever-present energy crisis, and dwindling natural resources, the world is a very different place than it was when Dr. Goodall began her studies. Yet she still finds reasons for hope. In a letter on the Jane Goodall Institute’s website, the famed adventuress places her faith in the human brain, the indomitable human spirit, the resilience of nature, and the determination of young people.

She encouraged students to take time to find their passions and to listen carefully to criticisms, while holding firm to their own convictions.  

Dr. Goodall’s impact and achievements can measured in many ways. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, to contribute the preservation of great apes and their habitats through research and education, promote sustainable living in local communities, and to create a worldwide network of young people. The latter goal formed the building blocks of the “Roots and Shoots” organization, which was established with the help of 12 Tanzanian teenagers in 1991.

View photos from "An Evening with Jane Goodall" below.