Dr Jane Goodall was speaking at the Sydney Town Hall on Monday 20th June, 2011 and, with much enthusiasm, we went along to see her talk about celebrating 50 years studying the chimpanzee in Gombe, Africa.
Her spirit and passion for life is truly infectious. Her study of chimpanzee behaviour, which is raw and ‘untainted’ in comparison to us humans, provides her an insight into human nature which is inspiring for all of us.
Before the seminar kicked off we had to get Daniel, in his wheelchair, into the town hall, which is unfortunately not wheelchair friendly as it was built in 1906. This meant we needed to use the side entrance to gain access to the building. We buzzed the door bell and were advised by security that someone would be down shortly to let us in and take us up to the main hall. As we were waiting at the rear entrance we turned around and, to our surprise, we saw our good friend Polly Cevallos, CEO of the Jane Goodall Institute, as well as Dr Jane Goodall approaching us.
As we had met Dr Jane from her previous visit to Sydney in 2008 we did not think she would remember us in the slightest however she remembered Daniel straight away which was delightful.
After an initial, and impromptu, meet and greet we then had the opportunity to get a photo with her with the kids after she had spoken at the seminar.
It was like meeting Eco Royalty !
Dr Goodall spoke at great length of the success of their ‘Roots and Shoots’ Program here in Australia which is getting into the hearts and minds of children all over Australia. If you would like more information on the Roots and Shoots Program please CLICK HERE !