The iconic ethologist and conservationist Jane Goodall is in Baltimore.
She has been studying the same group of primates and their behavior for 65 years.
Goodall spoke with WMAR-2 News about how she believes young people can create a better future.
VIDEO: The iconic, the undaunted, the uncompromised, Jane Goodall
“People say don’t meet your heroes, but tell that to Baltimore and this stadium that is about to be packed with people,” Goodall says.
This event was completely sold out.
Goodall has been an inspiration for most of her life, studying the way we see animals through the study of ethology, otherwise known as the study of behavior.
“I was told I’d done everything wrong," says Goodall. "You can’t talk about mapping personality, mind, or emotion, because those are unique to us. All of those things were rubbish.”
In addition to the myriad of hats Goodal wears, she's also a fierce environmental advocate and conservationist, so talking about the state of the world and the future to packed crowds is what she does.
"We’re living in pretty dark times, and is there hope, and why it’s important to protect the environment for the future,” states Goodall.
This hope for the future is young people like Joshua Oh, who is a part of her Roots and Shoots program.
She's empowering young people like him around the world, funding youth initiatives on a range of issues, from environmental and humanitarian to animal welfare.
“My greatest hope for the future is in our young people, not only roots and shoots but especially roots and shoots—but because animals, people, environment," says the conservationist.
This is exemplified in Joshua, who, with his brother, started his own non-profit, Kid Changemakers.
The non-profit created a pop-up pantry for food.
It quickly realized what people needed most at the time was actually diapers.
“We saw that there was a huge need in our community, and after research, we saw that there weren’t any government programs,” says Joshua Oh.
So, they decided to tackle the problem head-on.
“We set out to remove the diaper tax in Maryland. We saw there was a tax on baby diapers but not adult diapers,” Oh says.
The bill passed, saving Maryland families 12 million dollars a year...
“You need them to function, 100%. You cannot have a baby running around without a diaper. You can’t have a woman on her period without these products; it is necessary.”
Goodall sees this as a systematic issue.
“Even back in the mid-80s, I was meeting young people all over the world who were losing hope, and they said, ‘You’ve compromised our future, and there’s nothing we can do.’ Well, we have compromised the future, and we’re still doing it.”
In the face of these issues and the state of the world, she sees hope.
