Dr. Jane Goodall, world-renowned wildlife activist, paid New Mexico a visit last week.
She spoke at various locations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe to speak to multiple causes that all emphasize the same point: the dangerous disconnect between humans and earth.
I caught a glimpse of her at the Open Space Visitor’s Center on Friday where she campaigned with Mayor Martin Chavez on behalf of Albuquerque’s animal shelter. She also took the opportunity to speak about a special branch of her foundation called “Roots and Shoots.”
Roots and Shoots, founded by Dr. Goodall in 1991, is an organization devoted to empowering youth to do service learning projects that help environment, animals, and the human community. Since its inception, Roots & Shoots has grown to more that 8,000 groups in 96 countries, with a few branches right here in New Mexico.
About 100 people were gathered at the visitor’s center courtyard on Friday, overlooking the freshly budding bosque. The audience was a multi-generational blend of folks who all care about similar causes. Children from New Mexico chapters of Roots and Shoots were in attendance. Some of them even had a chance to meet with Dr. Goodall, who is still a very active participant in Roots and Shoots and other youth summits.
Roman Velazquez, a boy from the Rio Grande Chapter, said he was “thrilled” to have met Dr. Goodall. He and his friends also told me about various projects they enjoyed such as trash clean-ups and nature hikes. The chapter he belongs to has completed over 24 service projects since September 2005, and is still going strong. For me, it was such a “thrill” to see younger folks so excited about helping the world.
Apparently Dr. Goodall feels the same way. After addressing her audience with a lovely chimpanzee greeting, she spoke of her own childhood. She gave funny anecdotes about going to bed with a handful of earthworms, and watching a chicken lay an egg, ever so charmingly illustrating the magic of learning about animals and the environment. That was the foundation for Roots and Shoots. And that same “magic” of childhood is exactly what gives her energy to keep working so hard to help the world. As she puts it, children “break down the barriers between us and the natural world.”
The event wasn’t sickeningly sweet, however. Through her gentle English accent, Dr. Goodall explained how costly our lifestyle, as a specie, has become. She said that she was ashamed of the poisonous world that we, as adults, were leaving to future generations. She closed by saying the “together we can make the world a better place.”
The talk ended with a tree planting ceremony, where Jane and the children each took a fist-full of a soil and sawdust and sprinkled it over a young sapling. Together, they quietly delivered quite a poignant message; In order to appreciate our relationship to the natural World, we ought to realize our role in destroying that which we should be protecting. With the support that local Roots and Shoots chapters have seen so far, it seems as though New Mexico agrees.
For more information about Dr. Goodall and her efforts, go to www.janegoodall.org. To learn more about Roots and Shoots, or how to get involved check out www.rootsandshoots.org or try www.riogranderootsandshoots.org to see what the Rio Grande branch is up to. |
