An Ode to Jane Goodall

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at DCU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

In the early 1960s, a young woman sat quietly in the Gombe Jungle with a notebook in hand, observing a chimpanzee fish termites from a mound by removing leaves from a twig. The simple act of one animal using a simple tool would change science forever. The observer’s name was Jane Goodall, whose name has since become linked with terms like empathy and resilience, and an unshakable belief that humans are not separate from the natural world, but are a part of it. 

For over six decades, Goodall devoted her life to understanding and protecting the natural world. At a time when few women were permitted to participate in scientific research, and even fewer without formal training, Goodall entered the field of primatology. With nothing but persistence, patience and deep empathy, she began her journey in 1960 under the guidance of anthropologist Louis Leaky. What Goodall discovered would change long-held beliefs.. Humans alone used tools, felt emotion, and formed complex societies. 

Her discovery that chimpanzees can make and utilise tools was revolutionary. But what really stood out was the way she saw. To treat the chimpanzees as individual personalities with emotions and connections, Goodall gave them all names: David Greybeard, Flo, and Fifi. This approach blurred the strict line between human and animal, which was groundbreaking at the time. It was humanising to the world, but unscientific to her critics. Goodall’s works served as a reminder that empathy is a strength, not a weakness, in the scientific community. 

Her awareness of the natural world’s fragility grew as her research did. The once thriving forest was decreasing in size. Poaching and habitat destruction threatened the chimpanzees she adored. Instead of retreating to academics, Goodall took her message to the world. To encourage conservation and community-centred solutions, she established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977. She then started Roots & Shoots, a global youth initiative that inspires young people to take action for the environment. 

Even though Jane Goodall sadly passed away on October 1, 2025, her voice continues to echo across forests and classrooms alike. At the age of 91, she passed away from natural causes while on a speaking tour in the United States. Today, every young activist who is influenced by her journey carries on her philosophy: that small actions, when multiplied, can change the world. “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you”, she once remarked. Her legacy now includes that belief, that we carry on. 

Goodall’s legacy goes way beyond studying chimpanzees. She came to represent moral clarity and resilience in a time when environmental anxiety frequently stopped people. Her voice cuts through with quiet optimism despite the headlines about deforestation and climate change. She approached our situation with trust in human compassion rather than dismissing its importance. Her life serves as evidence that love and reason may coexist and that science and spirituality do not have to be separate. 

In many ways, Goodall’s story is about listening: to the chimpanzee’s cries, the rustle of the forest, and the earth itself. She shows us the value of being silent and paying attention in a world that is often too noisy to hear. Her work challenges us to see beyond ourselves and see the similarities among all living things. Jane Goodall continues to be a shining example of what it means to care deeply, passionately, and endlessly as the world struggles with the issues of indifference. Her story serves as a reminder that the quiet perseverance of people who don’t give up hope is often what brings about change. 

Her legacy lingers in every leaf that blows in the wind and in every new activist who plants a tree. The impact of Jane Goodall is not only recorded in academic publications but also in the hearts of those who have changed their perspective on the world as a result of her. 

To pay tribute to her means upholding the lesson she spent her life teaching us:

The wild is not something apart from us; it is a part of who we are.