Mongabay · Climate & nature

Jane Goodall Remembered for Activism and Hope

Jane Goodall, who passed away on October 1, 2025, at age 91, profoundly impacted our understanding of chimpanzees and the human-animal boundary through her pioneering research and subsequent activism.

Goodall, who began her career in 1960 with little formal training, transformed science’s understanding of chimpanzees and in the process reshaped the boundary between humans and animals.

She built on that science with activism, founding the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and establishing Roots & Shoots in 1991, which grew into a vast youth movement spanning more than 100 countries.

Her personal interactions were marked by a unique ability to make each encounter feel significant, whether engaging with children or showing deep concern for individual animals.

Goodall viewed hope not just as a feeling but as a tool that creates agency, emphasizing that small, local victories demonstrate that change is possible and that individual actions matter.

This message resonated personally, with her delight in a child's simple gesture reinforcing the idea that everyone's contributions are valued.

She utilized her global platform, despite never fully understanding her fame, to advocate for causes she believed in, reasoning that if people cared about her, they might care about her work.

Ultimately, she wished to be remembered for founding Roots & Shoots and for fostering the understanding that humans are not the only sentient beings on Earth, urging humanity to actively work towards a hopeful future.

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