Conservation hero's heroes work close to home

RELEASE: Feb. 22, 2008 – Volume XL, No. 8

Jane Goodall is a hero. She is known for her pioneering work observing wild chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, and she has devoted her life to conservation. Her own chosen heroes illustrate the importance of local conservation.

A television special on Animal Planet recently honored the work of five people Dr. Goodall selected as conservation heroes. Rather than singling out famous scientists or power brokers, she chose to spotlight ordinary people who are having an extraordinary impact on conservation in their communities through t heir passion and dedication:

• Washo Shadowhawk, a 15-year-old boy from Oregon who provides enrichment like toys and treats for monkeys at a primate research center; and also rehabilitates rescued animals;
• Samuel Hung of Hong Kong, who has devoted his life to studying and helping endangered Chinese white dolphins;
• George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, which is working to bring back the nearly extinct whooping crane;
• Tom Mangelsen, a renowned wildlife photographer from Wyoming, who founded the Cougar Fund to protect cougars throughout the Americas; and
• Juan Carlos Antezana, who runs the Inti Wara Yassi sanctuary for street children in Bolivia and also rehabilitates Amazonian wildlife such as pumas, jaguars and monkeys.

Dr. Goodall’s emphasis on grassroots, community-based conservation is consistent with the philosophy evident in her life work. Through the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program, she has helped foster over 8,000 local conservation groups in 100 countries, including more than 70 in New Jersey.

Founded in 1991, Roots & Shoots is a global environmental and humanitarian program for youth ranging in age from preschool to adult. It promotes local actions to care for animals, the environment and the human community.

In New Jersey, the Hillside Intermediate School in Bridgewater has its own example of a Roots & Shoots program, known as Hillside’s Environmental Leaders & Protectors (HELP). HELP uses the school’s seven-acre outdoor learning center and wildlife habitat for an interdisciplinary environmental science program. The program links academic study to community service by emphasizing research, skill application, and reflection in the context of solving problems with the community.

“Students meet throughout the year to explore schoolyard ecosystems and to investigate how they sustain biodiversity within our community,” explains teacher Katrina Macht. “Next, they research and design projects that address the effects of invasive species, fragmentation and habitat loss on native plants and animals.” Finally, the students and their parents put their wildlife projects into practice during workdays in the fall and spring.

“Being a part of Roots & Shoots means that I belong to something greater than I can imagine,” mused one 7th grade member of HELP, “and I am a part of something that is making a difference on Earth.”

Dr. Goodall would be happy with that sentiment. It’s a simple expression of her belief that every individual matters, every individual has a responsibility to our planet … and every individual can make a positive difference.

Learn more about Roots & Shoots, or contact a local group, at www.rootsandshoots.org. You can also meet some of Dr. Goodall’s heroes at animal.discovery.com/fansites/janegoodall/heroes/meet/meet.html. And I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

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