Honouring Jane Goodall: Inspiring Empathy and Urgency for Our Planet

Tessa Johnson

On October 1st, the world lost an environmental icon and a voice for the voiceless, Jane Goodall. At 91, Jane died of natural causes while in Los Angeles on a speaking tour. Jane dedicated her life to campaigning for the planet. At 26, she travelled from England to Tanzania. This left her ordinary life behind as she embarked on a journey working with chimpanzees. Her lasting legacy offers us a foundational perspective on our closest living relatives. Speaking to ABC News, she said, “The more I learn, the more I realise they are just like us.” This empathy lies at the heart of all her work, which has touched every corner of our planet.

Jane Goodall appears in the television special ‘Miss Goodall and the World of Chimpanzees’ originally broadcast on CBS, on Dec. 22, 1965, in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. CBS via Getty Images

Through both the Jane Goodall Institute and its sister programme Roots and Shoots, she helped champion conservation and sustainability worldwide. In January 2025, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Biden. Despite facing sexist criticism, dubbed ‘a fragile blonde better suited to pouring tea and watering roses.’ She is now considered a scientific pioneer and even has a Mattel Explorer Barbie in her likeness- complete with binoculars, which she never left without. Yet all these achievements are secondary to her message: a hope that one day humanity and the planet can live together in harmony.

Jane reminded us that empathy and hope are central to conservation; without them, we risk falling into apathy. Speaking with John Barry, former leader of the Green Party for Northern Ireland and professor of environmental economics, he remarked: “Jane Goodall was a shining light in a world growing ever darker. While we face unprecedented climate and ecological crises, Jane rolled up her sleeves and got to work rather than throwing her hands up in despair. May she not rest in peace, but in power.”

Jane was a pioneering scientist who demonstrated that empathy is a vital scientific strength, uncovering what others had overlooked for years. While in Tanzania, she observed chimpanzees engaging in behaviour typically associated with humans, such as using tools. She also documented aggressive behaviours like group conflicts and infanticide. Her studies revealed that chimpanzees possess individual personalities, deep social bonds, and emotions.

At a time when science demanded detachment, she brought intuition and empathy into the field, revolutionising primatology. Her method often faced harsh criticism, and she was frequently accused of both anthropomorphism and a lack of scientific objectivity. However, in her research, she not only changed the way we think of animals but also the way we define man.

Both in scientific research and in the political scene we face today, empathy is dismissed as soft or irrational- particularly when it comes to women. In a recent speech at the United Nations, Donald Trump claimed climate change to be “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” There’s a lot to worry about in an ever-darkening world, as John Barry describes, when it comes to the climate crisis and today’s political scene.

However, Jane’s legacy is a profound counterpart to such rhetoric. Her scientific research, backed by empathy and her unwavering dedication to the animals on the planet, is a message to us all. That science, politics and deep compassion don’t only coexist- but must if we are to solve this crisis.

The future world of politics now needs to translate her message of hope to one of unity and action.

In her words:

If you think globally, you become gloom, but if you take a piece of this whole

picture…my piece….our piece…gradually the pieces get filled in and the world is a

better place because of you.

To honour her memory, we must commit to action — for the wild places she loved, for the chimpanzees she studied, and for the generations yet to come.

Thank you, Jane.

British primatologist Jane Goodall visits a chimpanzee rescue center on June 9, 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda.