On Wednesday October 1st, 2025, passed away while on a speaking tour in the United States. As an esteemed scientist whose life mission was to advocate for wildlife, promote conservation, and strengthen ties between humans and other members of the animal kingdom, she stayed true to her mission up until her final moments. A researcher who spent more of her time traveling than not (300 days out of the year), Dr. Goodall had a fervent commitment to education and our world.
Among the many stops Jane made around the world, 9I制作厂免费 was one of them. Twice in fact! We hosted Dr. Goodall on two occasions for the university鈥檚 Beatty Lecture Series. Dr. Goodall鈥檚 first appearance was in 1979 鈥� in Leacock 132 (can you believe it?! The same place as this year鈥檚 ), and the second was 40 years later in 2019. To date, she is the only speaker who has been invited to speak at the Beatty Lecture twice. In her 1979 lecture titled, 鈥淐himpanzees in the Wild: Perspectives on Primate Behaviour鈥� Dr. Goodall recounted her fieldwork with her chimpanzee companions in Gombe, Tanzania. Interrupted by roars of laughter due to her quick wit, Goodall confidently established her integrity in the field of primatology through her unpacking of community dynamics, controversy (to put it lightly), and mourning within chimpanzee communities.
鈥淣ow we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as .鈥�
Jane Goodall鈥檚 path to academia was a . She made her most groundbreaking discovery prior to obtaining a university degree. In fact, her findings were so groundbreaking that they prompted her mentor Dr. Louis Leaky to write the very line you see in bold.
(While I may have a university degree under my belt, Goodall had about 4 years on me at the time of this discovery. So... I will update you in 2029!)
But how did she get to that point? In the autumn of 1960, Jane Goodall accompanied a primatologist friend-of-a-friend, Louis Leaky, to Tanzania. Inspired by her love of primates and animals, Goodall decided to take an unorthodox approach to studying the chimps at the research facility. Rather than observing them from afar, when she was able, she joined the primates in their habitat. She tried to act as their neighbor. It was here, in this uniquely intimate setting, that Dr. Goodall witnessed something incredible. A chimp, named , began to strip leaves off twigs, and then used the leaves to fish termites out of their mound. A delicious treat!
During this period as well, Dr. Goodall witnessed chimpanzees hunting bush pigs and other animals. This was another astonishing finding that revolutionized this field. Until 1960, it was believed that 1. Humans were the only animals capable of crafting tools and that 2. Chimpanzees were vegetarian.
Due to Goodall鈥檚 findings, as well as her exceptional work with the primates, Dr. Leaky, arranged for Goodall to receive funding to begin a PhD at the University of Cambridge. She was the eighth person at Cambridge to be allowed to pursue a PhD without having received a bachelor's degree.
Dr. Goodall鈥檚 success only blossomed throughout her career. In 1977, she created the Jane Goodall Institute. This project not only continues to support the training of researchers at the Gombe Research Center in Tanzania, but it also supports initiatives that develop community-centered conservation strategies aimed at mutually benefitting humans, animals, and nature alike. She also created , which is a program established in 1991 that exclusively identified ways to empower pre-school to university aged youth. Throughout her life, Goodall remained a steadfast activist, working tirelessly to advocate for environmental stewardship and conservation. During this time, however, she ran into some trouble...
Goodall in Hot Water
In 2013, six years before her second Beatty Lecture at 9I制作厂免费, Dr. Goodall was accused of plagiarizing certain parts of her book, Seeds of Hope. The broke the plagiarism story after an expert botanist declined to review the book, citing that there were 鈥渆choed passages鈥� in the text. Sentences from Wikipedia entries, website and blog posts, were included in Dr. Goodall鈥檚 original text without the proper citations. When brought to both her and the public鈥檚 attention, Goodall was remorseful, expressing her sincerest apologies and vowed to make the necessary corrections. In fact, Goodall blamed her erratic note taking tendencies for this major literary error.
However, there鈥檚 more.
Seeds of Hope also includes a on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - something that Dr. Goodall was an avid opponent of. Citing the negative environmental and health impacts of these crops, Goodall criticized scientific research institutions for not carrying out sufficient research before bringing these crops and seeds to market. Dr. Goodall even went as far as to public law attorney (another anti-GMO activist) Steven Druker to help promote his book, 鈥淎ltered Genes, Twisted Truth.鈥� It is important to note here that neither of these individuals have the educational background to evaluate the health impacts of GMOs, especially when the evidence they cite is primarily anecdotal. According to the , and based upon a robust body of evidence, 鈥渁ny long-term health effects of consuming food from genetically engineered plants would be no different than those associated with consuming foods from similar traditionally-bred plants.鈥� Additionally, the found that using GMO crops did not reduce the overall plant and insect diversity on agricultural plots. In fact, in some cases, it increased insect diversity. In sum, their report found no 鈥渃onclusive evidence of cause-and-effect relationships between [GMO] crops and environmental problems.鈥� Goodall premised her claims on a lack of evidence; however, the evidence is abundant, and, in fact, conclusive.
While Jane Goodall has left an enormous impression on our world, having inspired, and continuing to inspire many individuals young and old alike, it is important to remember that this does not excuse violations of academic integrity nor spreading unbacked claims. Especially in the current age of copious amounts of misinformation circulating, backing up your work with reputable sources is non-negotiable. As we honor Dr. Goodall鈥檚 legacy, let鈥檚 also honor the value of a proper citation.
Eva Kellner is a recent graduate from the Faculty of Arts and Science, with a major in Environment. Her research interests include urban green spaces, urban agriculture, and outdoor community spaces - all as promoters of climate resilience among city-dwellers.
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