2016 2016: In lead up to Dr. Jane Goodall April 7 visit, UMassD and SouthCoast launch new sustainability efforts

Goal to place power to create solutions in hands of young people

World-renowned ethologist, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall will visit UMass Dartmouth on Thursday, April 7, 2016. In the lead up to that visit, the University and SouthCoast communities will launch a series of new sustainability efforts. Among those efforts is the establishment of several Roots & Shoots initiatives across the region.

Dr. Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots is the youth-led community action and learning program of the Jane Goodall Institute. The program builds on the legacy and vision of Dr. Jane Goodall to place the power and responsibility for creating community-based solutions to big challenges in the hands of the young people. Through the program, young people map their community to identify specific challenges their neighborhoods face. From there, they prioritize the problems, develop a plan for a solution, and take action all while developing the skills and attitudes to become part of the next generation of Dr. Jane Goodalls.

Prior to Dr. Jane Goodall’s 7 p.m. talk scheduled at UMass Dartmouth’s Tripp Athletic Center, the University, in collaboration with local school districts, is offering several opportunities for elementary, middle school, high school and college students to be engaged in this special visit including:

Jane Goodall Institute unveils JGI app

The Jane Goodall Institute will unveil the use of a new App when Dr. Goodall speaks on the UMass Dartmouth campus, Thursday, April 7. The App will allow participants watching the talk live-streamed on the UMass Dartmouth website, (www.umassd.edu) to pose real-time questions to Dr. Goodall.

Roots & Shoots Chapters formed in response to Dr. Jane Goodall’s visit

Several regional Roots & Shoots Chapters are forming in the local community, including at UMass Dartmouth, Our Sisters School, and The Buttonwood Park Zoo.

Roots & Shoot Club at Our Sister's School 

In conjunction with Dr. Jane Goodall’ visit, the students at Our Sister’s School are working on a garden and composting system. UMass Dartmouth Endeavor Scholar Elsa McGilvery is working with the Our Sisters School club and received a mini grant from Roots & Shoots for the project.

UMass Dartmouth Engineers without Borders Chapter

The UMass Dartmouth Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Chapter will use the scheduled Green Fair Exhibit and Dr. Jane Goodall’s visit as an opportunity to showcase their work in Panama. As there will be 800 K-12 students on campus, UMass Dartmouth students will educate others about the  creation of a working water distribution system in a Panamanian village.

UMass Dartmouth students involved on campus and greater community

UMass Dartmouth biology major Baldwin Dilone and art education major Taylor Penning are teaming up with the New Bedford Boys & Girls Club and Allen’s Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Dartmouth to create a "salt marsh eco float" that they will bring to campus for Dr. Jane Goodall’s visit.

UMass Dartmouth student’s work with Hayden McFadden School, New Bedford

UMass Dartmouth Textile Design/Fiber Art student Melissa Masse is working with the New Bedford Parks and Recreation Department and the Hayden McFadden School to create a Pollinator "eco float.” 

Regional essay contest winners to meet Dr. Jane Goodall

UMass Dartmouth and the Jane Goodall Institute will choose six winners from across the region. The meeting between the contest winners and Dr. Goodall is closed to media.

UMass Dartmouth graphic design student honors thesis

UMass Dartmouth senior graphic design student Kaci Dumas is working on novel ways to educate others about the importance of recycling to reduce plastic waste in the oceans. Her honors thesis work will culminate with a visit by Dr. Jane Goodall to the UMass Dartmouth campus. Biology Professor Dr. Jennifer Koop is her thesis advisor.

Kuss Middle School in Fall River to broadcast Dr. Jane Goodall’s talk from www.umassd.edu website           

Kuss Middle School in Fall River will broadcast the live-stream talk to their school community

from their own cafeteria at Matthew J. Kuss Middle School.

Zero waste event

This is a Zero waste event for UMass Dartmouth. The University is honored to host Dr.

Jane Goodall and accepted this opportunity as a chance to align the campus message of sustainability and environmental stewardship with her vision. All dishware, cups and leftover food from this event will be composted.

Dr. Jane Goodall is best known for her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania beginning 55 years ago. Through her work at Gombe Stream she redefined the relationship between humans and animals, shedding light onto the little known world of wild chimpanzees.

A special thank you to all who have made this event possible:

• The Tatelbaum Family
• The Jane Goodall Institute
• Leduc Center for Civic Engagement
• Office of Campus Sustainability and Residential Initiatives
• Buttonwood Park Zoo
• The UMass Dartmouth Foundation & Advancement Office

More about the Jane Goodall Institute

In 1977, Dr. Jane Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, which continues the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. The Institute is widely recognized for innovative, community conservation and development programs in Africa, and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the global environmental and humanitarian youth program. To learn more about Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute, please visit www.janegoodall.org.