I had the absolute pleasure of attending the Jane Goodall institute‘s Roots & Shoots Awards 2017 on World Wildlife Day — an important day in the conservationist’s calendar for promoting campaigns and causes concerning wildlife across the globe.
Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots is a youth service program for young people of all ages to foster respect and compassion for all living things; to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire individuals to take action to make the world a better place for people, other animals, and the environment.
I have huge respect for Dr Jane Goodall, one of Lewis Leakey and National Geographic‘s ‘trimates‘ (she studied chimpanzees, while Dr Dian Fossey studied gorillas and Dr Brute Galdikas studied orang-utans), and it was amazing to see the way that she is still inspiring and encouraging children today.
I arrived at the Barbican, where the Roots & Shoots Awards were held this year (thanks to sponsors Love Nature) to a room bubbling with energy and filled with school displays by the Roots & Shoots winners. Children of all ages showed off their skills as gardeners, greenhouse-builders, photographers and documentary makers.
I took a good couple of hours to speak to all the children about their schools’ initiatives and the eco-friendly activities they have devised. Below are a few examples of the amazing work I saw — but there were certainly many more, equally impressive displays and models (I just didn’t have enough space on my phone to photograph them all!)
After viewing the room of beautiful exhibits, it was time for lunch in the Barbican Centre‘s greenhouse conservatory, before moving on to the auditorium for the much anticipated award ceremony and the handing out of prizes! Winners received a trophy, a cuddly Jane Goodall ‘Mr H’ monkey, a book and a free subscription to National Geographic Kids Magazine.
Congratulations to all the schools who won these prestigious awards. It was a real treat to see such happiness and celebration! Additionally, I got to present two very talented winners the award for ‘Outstanding Photograph‘ on behalf of National Geographic Kids:
Rachel from the University of Salford (pictured above) won with this fantastic photograph of three Barbary macaques.
The second winner was Claudia from James Allen’s Girls’ School, who won with the beautiful photograph below.
Her award was collected by her teacher, who said she was very proud of Claudia’s work. Claudia will have the chance to be an National Geographic Kids reporter for the day!
The day concluded with a heartfelt speech delivered by Dr Jane Goodall herself, encompassing the message behind Roots & Shoots of inclusion, tolerance and love and respect for the planet and one another. She praised the teachers who guide and encourage their students in programmes like Roots & Shoots and the people like her mother, who never crushed curiosity or stopped her from making mistakes and learning all the life lessons she need to become a scientist.
“I hate hearing that ‘we’ve not inherited the Earth from our parents, we’ve borrowed it from our children’; I hate it because it’s a lie. We’ve not ‘borrowed’, we have been stealing, and we’ve made so many mistakes and it’s not the young peoples’ job to put it right. We have to work with them to fix it. We have been stealing, and now we’re holding your hand so that together we can make it better.”
Listen to more of Jane’s speech by clicking here.
Learn more about Roots and Shoots Awards
- Read my discussion with Jane Goodall about the Roots and Shoots programme
- What happened when I took a Roots and Shoots #NoWasteNovember pledge
Want to know more about Dr Jane Goodall?
Jane Goodall is a miracle, she is a phenomenon a beacon of hope in a mostly hopeless world.
I second that! She actually gives me hope that things can improve and that there IS a way through to educating people – adults and children!