The death of Jane Goodall, one of the world’s most respected conservationists and primatologists, was announced on October 1, 2025.
Goodall published scores of academic papers, both as sole author and as part of a larger research team over the years, but it was her films, books, and articles aimed at non-experts that introduced the chimpanzees of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream to a wide audience. Through lectures and interviews, she interpreted the complex lives of non-human primates for humans around the world. As her (and our) connections to Tanzania’s chimpanzees grew longer and deeper, she became as much of an advocate and activist as scientist, using her data and position to warn of the environmental dangers of war, development, and climate change.
Numerous obituaries documenting Goodall’s life and work can be found online. Here, we offer a look into her ambitions and advocacy as captured in her own words. All the linked articles are available for free reading and download.
“The Trees of Gombe” from Foreign Policy:
There is a saying: “We haven’t inherited this planet from our parents. We borrowed it from our children.” But we haven’t been borrowing—we’ve been stealing. And we’re still stealing. When we elect leaders who promote economic development over the protection of the environment and buy products made with unsustainable practices, we betray the future of our children.
Certainly there are reasons to despair, but there are also reasons to hope. Per-haps the most driving reason for hope is the commitment of young people. I’ve seen how their behavior can change once we empower them to take action. Everywhere I go around the world, young people involved in our Roots & Shoots movement greet me and, with shining eyes, share what they’ve been doing to make this a better world for people, other animals, and the environment.
Nature, if given the proper care, has great resilience. Animals and plants on the brink of extinction can be given another chance when people take action. The human spirit is an indomitable thing, visible in those who tackle what seems impossible and succeed. […] We have a window of time when we can heal some of the harm. Maybe it’s wishful thinking. I don’t know. But I choose to believe that if we get together and develop a new way of thinking we can start putting things right.
“Disturbing Facts about War and the Environment” from Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment:
The environment still hasn’t recovered from the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of World War II. People in these areas suffer from increased rates of cancer and other diseases. That such weapons were ever created is a stain on human history. That governments have continued to develop and test nuclear bombs— along with chemical and biological weapons— can surely never be justified.
[…]
Meanwhile another war has been ignited and the effect on all living things is likely to be catastrophic. The situation is made worse when governments in the developed world violate environmental regulations or try to persuade citizens that the environment is expendable in light of national security concerns.
It is difficult to confront these depressing facts, and many people do indeed prefer not to know. But we still have time to act. We can be aware of the decisions we make, even small ones on a daily basis, that impact the environment, and change our behavior accordingly. We can be careful to buy products from socially responsible companies. We can try to bring about peace in our own lives, strive to understand each other better and to spread compassion. And we can express our opinions.
I believe there is hope. But the first step is to recognize the realities, rather than burying our heads in the sand like some gigantic flock of ostriches. Because, as more and more of that sand becomes contaminated as a result of war and the preparations for war, the outlook for the ostriches—and for all life on Earth—will become
“A Conversation with… …Jane Goodall” from The American Biology Teacher:
No young person should leave school feeling that to be a good scientist it’s so important to be objective that it’s absolutely impossible to become emotionally involved with the animals being studied. It is this reasoning that has led to the inhumanity we find in some animal research labs. It is perfectly possible to record data objectively despite feelings of personal involvement. It simply requires discipline. So often today young people get the message that in order to be a really good scientist you must be a scientist first and a human being second. That misconception must be eradicated from our society.
Weekly Newsletter
“The Future Beings With Youth” from Corporate Knights:
The individual efforts of hundreds of thousands of young people around the world together are making monumental change. With an overall theme of learning to live in peace and harmony with each other they are learning to respect others and thus breaking down barriers between nations, religions, cultures, old and young, rich and poor, and between “us” and the natural world.
[…]
We are working on ways to show the extraordinary difference our young people are making around the world. Some groups tackle long-term projects such as removing invasive species from an area of prairie in Texas, or a wetland in Taiwan.
There is a lot of tree planting.
Some have changed laws such as a group from Santa Monica that was instrumental in banning plastic bags in California. Many schools grow vegetables—without chemical pesticides of course. Some volunteer in shelters for the homeless or for dogs and cats. They raise money for earthquake or hurricane or war victims in other countries, or become Chimp Guardians.
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