Jane Goodall to 400 Ontario students: You can make a 'huge difference' with the environment
World-renowned anthropologist stopped by the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington
"Together we must change the world."
That's the message anthropologist Jane Goodall left Halton-area school children with following a talk at Burlington, Ont.'s Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) Wednesday morning.
About 400 children from 15 schools came to hear the world-renowned scientist who is famous for her research into apes. The Burlington stop included an evening event with the broader community and was one of many speaking events around the world that Goodall does annually. She was also speaking Thursday evening at Meridian Hall in Toronto.
At the RBG, Goodall spoke about ways in which young people can make a difference in the fight against climate change such as eating less meat, walking and taking transit. "You get to choose," she said, and it should be something you're passionate about.
She also answered questions submitted ahead of time by the schools in attendance. One group asked what brings her joy. Goodall said it was seeing kids work to protect the environment, and "being with a dog." She said that while many people assume chimpanzees are her favourite animal, that honour goes to dogs.
One anecdote Goodall shared, that seemed to resonate with students, was about a boy in Burundi who asked her if picking up a piece of litter each day would make a difference. Goodall said it would and suggested he try for 10 pieces. He told her he would try to persuade his friends to join him, and she told him to think about what would be possible if each of them recruited their friends in turn.
"His eyes got bigger and bigger and he said, 'What a big difference we would make,'" Goodall recounted.
"That's really the way that we have to think of the little things we do each day. They may seem small, but when you think there are millions of people doing those same things, then it makes a huge, huge difference."
After the talk, Goodall met with students from Alton Village Public School in Burlington. One student, Grade 5 Arham Taufiq, told CBC Hamilton he wants to try and get a group of friends together to clean up trash. "I'll try to convince them one day."
He added that another way he thinks people should make change is by using less electricity at home.
Alton Village fifth grader Andrew Wehebe said he enjoyed Goodall's talk despite originally thinking it would be outdoors and involve seeing live chimpanzees.
He and his classmates learned about Goodall before the presentation and he said the story about the boy in Burundi also inspired him. "I could do that too."
"[Goodall] doesn't just care about animals. She cares about people, animals, the environment, Earth – everything. .. It makes me think of Superman," student Callan Jones said.
Grade 5 Somya Gadagabi said she was struck by how many years Goodall studied apes. "She worked really hard to get close to the chimpanzees."
She added she could see herself working with animals one day. "They're just really cute and mostly friendly."
Before Goodall spoke, two people who've been involved with the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots Program told the audience about ways young people can organize against climate change.
"Young people like you can make all the difference," said Shannon Santos, who got involved with the program at McMaster University around 2005. She said to keep students' excitement and engagement alive, adults need to set an example.
"Make sure we're showing them every day in our communities that we're turning off the lights, conserving water, doing those things," Santos said. "I think if we show them those values and that we are making a difference for the planet ourselves, they will follow."
That's the hope of hosting Goodall's world tour, said Kimberly Viney, chief operating officer at the RBG.
"What we're trying to do is create 400 ambassadors out of today," she said. "Those kids can go back to their schools and hopefully influence their classmates … and families. Hopefully that turns into some action and active conservation efforts."
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