Tickets are now on sale to see world renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall speak in Cranbrook. Dame Jane Goodall will present her “Reason for Hope” lecture at the Key City Theatre on Sunday, September 30.
Dame Jane Goodall is the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees and she has spent 45 years studying the social and family life of primates in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.
Dr. Goodall has been named a United Nations Messenger For Peace. Her worldwide recogition includes the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the French Legion of Honor, the Medal of Tanzania, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence, and the Spanish Prince of Asturias Awards.
She now devotes much of her time to conservation efforts for chimpanzees and their habitats. The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada was founded in 1993, one of a worldwide network of institutes.
Dr. Goodall is being hosted in Cranbrook by the Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network (CBEEN). Executive director Duncan Whittick met Dr. Goodall at her home in Tanzania, and found her very impressive.
“She’s an amazing individual. She’s one of those people who, despite the fact that she is built up as such as icon, she doesn’t disappoint. She carries a real aura of someone who has been dedicated and passionate about something for so long,” said Whittick.
Whittick said CBEEN decided to approach Dr. Goodall about speaking Cranbrook because her mission is similar to its own.
“One of the reasons CBEEN decided to contact the Jane Goodall Institute was because her organization and what we are doing here in the Columbia Basin seem to work very well together. One of our key objectives is to build the environmental education network and to expose children and the general public to environmental education. Even though she started out as a primatologist studying chimpanzees in Tanzania, she has broadened her scope over the past few decades and she now focuses on sustainability around the world,” said Whittick.
In Cranbrook, Dr. Goodall will present her widely acclaimed ‘Reason For Hope’ lecture at the Key City Theatre. In the lecture, Dr. Goodall explains that even though it seems we are destroying our planet, there is reason to maintain hope because of the human brain, the indomitable human spirit, the resilience of nature, and the determination of young people.
The Sunday lecture is followed up by an opportunity on Monday for school children to hear from and meet Dr. Goodall.
“We have organized for her to be available on the Monday morning at the Key City Theatre and we are working with School Districts 5 and 6 to select a handful of Grade 5s and 6s who will be able to listen to her speak and ask her some questions,” said Whittick.
CBEEN is also investigating whether the Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots program could be developed in the Columbia Basin.
“Right now we have our Wild Voices for Kids program, which operates around the Basin, and we have almost 12,000 kids every year going through that program. They are building knowledge and building their expertise,” said Whittick.
“They’ve got the knowledge and we want to build on that, and we think Roots and Shoots is a good catalyst to bring that action piece to the forefront.”
Roots and Shoots is an environmental and humanitarian youth program that has a network of tens of thousands of members in 120 countries. Children from toddlers to college students take part in making the world a better place for people, animals and the environment.
Tickets are on sale now for $50 each at the Key City Theatre to see Dr. Jane Goodall on Sunday, September 30 at 7 p.m. They will go fast so get in quick.
“It’s Dr. Goodall’s debut in the Kootenays and it’s probably her cheapest ticket price in her North American tour. Given that, I would expect she’ll have a pretty high drawing factor,” said Whittick.
