'Every day you make a difference': Jane Goodall’s final message to youth
Goodall was in California when she died and had been scheduled to speak to 1,000 students at a programme
"Every day on this planet, you make a difference … start thinking about the consequences of the small choices you make," were among the last words shared by Jane Goodall in a video message recorded shortly before her death.
Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist and conservationist best known for her pioneering research on wild chimpanzees in Tanzania, passed away in California yesterday (1 October) at the age of 91, the Jane Goodall Institute said.
Goodall was in California when she died and had been scheduled to speak to 1,000 students at a programme. At the event, Erin McCombs of the Jane Goodall Institute announced her passing before sharing a pre-recorded video in which Goodall spoke about the environment and youth empowerment.
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"I've been working on trying to make this a better world for animals, people, and the environment, flat out, since 1986, and one of my greatest reasons for hope in this battered world is the youth," she said. "I think bringing together a lot of young people, who truly have leadership material so they can exchange ideas and in some cases boost each other's morale — cause sometimes it's really tough, really difficult — so a gathering like this, I think, is a very important way ahead."
She continued, "I think I find it most inspiring when I come to a gathering like this, and the fact that, compared to how I was when I was young, [young people] are so articulate, they're so passionate, that's been a real sea change. And I think it's because people have learned to listen to them, [their] voices, and enabled them to take charge. So, this is a whole different feeling."
Goodall recalled how she was inspired to start the youth programme Roots & Shoots in 1991 to help mobilise young people, "I think that very many of the students that I've met here are already taking action, and they, hopefully, by being with their peers, they'll be inspired to take greater action. And what do they need to take action? They need a group of likeminded people who believe in themselves, who believe in the project that's really important and then see the difference that they make."
She also warned against living for wealth alone saying, "I think we're creating a critical mass of young people who understand that, yes, we need money to live, but we mustn't live for money in and of itself. Money itself is good if you use it for good, but if you're just trying to get more and more money, to get more houses, more cars, all this sort of thing, that's where it's gone wrong. This is what's led to this unsustainable lifestyle."
Her closing words were a call to conscience, "Think about our ecological footprint. I think the key thing is to realize that every day on this planet, you make a difference, and if you start thinking about the consequences of the small choices you make — What you buy? Where did it come from? How was it made? Was there child slave labor involved? Did it help the environment? Would you eat it if it didn't involve cruelty to animals? — you start thinking like that, and millions of people around the world thinking like that, then we start to get the kind of world that we cannot be too embarrassed to leave to our children."
Her message, played in place of her own appearance, now stands as her final legacy.
