Congratulations to the staff and students at Macquarie University for an outstanding effort collecting over 100 mobile devices for recycling on behalf of JGIA. Not only will diverting these devices from landfill reduce waste and the need for new coltan to be mined from endangered great ape habitats in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they will also help to fund our Africa programs which work to protect chimps, gorillas and the forests they call home. Keep up the great work!
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Congratulations to R&S member Olivia Smith for putting together this wonderful and informative video on palm oil cultivation and its effect on orangutans. Olivia is a 7-year old wildlife warrior from Western Australia who is passionate about animal conservation. She researches the facts on animals and puts them together in a story for you to enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing your work with us Olivia! You are truly an inspiration.
Have you got an inspiring project like Olivia’s that you’d like to share with the R&S community? Send through details of your project to rootsandshoots@janegoodall.org.au and we’ll share it here too!
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On October 06th, grade 5 Elwood Primary School students Tilly, Eva, Ella, Grace, Mia, and Nellie travelled with their mums up to Howqua Hills Valley in the Victorian high country to go on a 25km hike to raise money for orphaned chimpanzees. Together they raised over $4000, which will be donated to The Jane Goodall Insitute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in Republic of Congo to help care for injured and orphaned chimpanzees. Below is a recap of their adventure. Thank you girls for your amazing effort and for sharing your story with us all!
The drive to Howqua is three and a half hours from Melbourne but is totally worth it. There is a windy road just before you get there. It’s a beautiful sight of trees and native animals such as wombats, wallabies and kangaroos down a gravel road with a few bends in it going down to the base of Mt Buller where Howqua lies. Nigel, the ranger, came before the hike to talk about the native animals and plants, as well as the difference between a national park and a state forest. He told us what to do if we came across a snake and the type of snake we are most likely to come across. Nigel found a rock that the aboriginals had shaped into a tool they had used. The aboriginals came to the Howqua valley in summer to fish and hunt. The first night the Elwood Outback Girls (Ella, Eva, Mia, Grace, Nellie and Tilly) slept in a tent. We fell asleep listening to the Howqua river race its way down from Mt Buller.
First Morning by Nellie
The first morning of the hike we had Weetbix for breakfast. With all the information we learnt from Nigel we were ready for the hike. But it was chilly and it made us a little nervous. As soon as we got to Fry’s Cabin it felt so real. When we started to take the last photos and say goodbyes we took our first steps to victory and to raise money for the chimps…that made me feel proud!
Our Journey by MiaOur walk was amazing! We started off at Fry’s Hut campsite with a bag full of snacks and our lunch. The first day we walked 17km mostly along the high track that follows the Howqua River; the views were stunning. Some of the time we had to walk single file as the track was skinny, with an adult in front watching out for snakes! Jeannine spotted a baby snake and we all sprinted through that spot in case his mum was around. We had a few little breaks and then around 4 hours into our walk we stopped at Gardeners Hut and ate our lunch down by the river. All the kids took their shoes off and put their feet into the icy cold water – it felt good.
Back on the track, we reached a small river crossing. The kids made it across no problem, but when it got to Lisa her foot slipped slightly and with all the laughing her whole foot made it in! That was not the end of wet feet. Mum also managed to get a wet shoe by overthinking a river crossing the next day.
Camping in nature was amazing, but doing it with the Elwood Outback Girls was even better. The hike was huge and to have the Dads to set the camp up was an amazing surprise. We all went down to the river to have a swim, even though it was freezing. As we all made a fire we sat down and had dinner, then we had dessert, which was cheesecake brownies. We were starving. Grace had brought a hammock so we swung on that a lot. The singing of the birds and the rushing river where calming. At night we told spooky stories and looked up at the night sky. There where stars everywhere for there were no city lights. We all slept in little tents with our mums. We all fell asleep ready to walk back home the next day.
As we left the campsite, it began to rain so we all put our hoods up and walked on. There were a couple of streams that we had to cross, which were a little fuller and the rocks were slippery, so there were a few falls and some very wet shoes! No matter what, we kept going – even though our legs and feet were sore. As we walked into base camp, we were so relieved to have made it and very proud of ourselves – we had completed our goal!
The NSW Roots & Shoots team had a fantastic weekend at Taronga Zoo for the Boral Eco Fair on September 28-29th. More than 200 young people pledged to reduce the amount of plastic they use by putting their thumb print on Binging, the paper mâché turtle. Binging was created by our NYLC team and is a mascot for JGIA’s plastic free oceans initiative. Thanks to everyone who came along and committed to cutting down on plastic waste. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Members of our fabulous NSW R&S team with Binging the turtle at Taronga Zoo for the 2017 Boral Eco Fair.
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Jane Goodall Institute Australia CEO, Nancy Moloney, visited Clovelly Public School on Monday September 11th to share the exciting news that CPS collected the most mobile phones out of all of the schools in NSW involved in the Jane Goodall Institute Australia’s Mobile Phone Recycling Term 1 Campaign, and was 1st runner-up nationally! In recognition of their amazing efforts over the past two years, CPS was presented with a certificate of appreciation as well as some very special artwork designed by Kate Grebert Designs, signed by both the artist and Dr Jane herself. The artwork will be on display in the CPS library near Mr Garry Scale’s office, as a lovely thanks to the students for their support. As CPS has lots of other wonderful environmental projects in the works, Nancy also encouraged all students to sign up to Roots & Shoots and share their R&S projects on the projects page, so they can inspire other kids across Australia to get involved too. Ten students from CPS have also been invited to join with other Roots & Shoots groups at the upcoming Peace Day celebrations at Taronga Zoo on July 25th. Please contact nsw@janegoodall.org.au for more information on our Peace Day plans. Congratulations CPS and keep up the great work – we can’t wait to see what projects you will take on next!
To be in the running you need to be registered with Roots & Shoots and submit a project outline with details about a Roots & Shoots project that you’ve participated in during the last 12 months. The outline should include:
Submissions should be forwarded via email to rootsandshoots@janegoodall.org.au by 5pm AEST on Friday May 26th, 2017. Winners will be selected and notified of their involvement with Dr Jane’s tour by May 31st, 2017.
Please note that unfortunately Roots & Shoots Australia is unable to assist with costs associated with travelling to and from the location of the event, so this should be considered prior to submitting your project outline.
Good luck!
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“Gombe Stream National Park has, for a very long time, been an enigma for me. Ever since I was young I have dreamt of the mist covered-mountains floating on Lake Tanganyika and the resident chimpanzee family that Jane has always described so vividly. That’s why, for two
The boat ride over to Gombe Stream National Park.
hours on a rickety fisherman’s boat, zipping along Lake Tanganyika on my way to Gombe, I sat silently perched at the stern with the biggest grin on my face and tears in my eyes; my childhood dreams were coming true. I didn’t need a sign to tell me when I reached Gombe. The stark transformation from the surrounding farmland into a lush green rainforest with colobus monkeys hanging from the canopy was enough of a sign for me. It is in this contrast you can see how influential Jane has been in protecting chimpanzees and helping establish a strong environmental conscious in the community. It was only with the help of Dr Jane’s TACARE (TakeCare) initiative and Roots & Shoots programs that local Tanzanians began to strongly implement chimpanzee conservation and sustainable agricultural practices.
Dr Anthony Collins, Head of Baboon Research.
Arriving at Gombe, I was warmly welcomed by primatologist Dr. Anthony Collins. Dr. Collins started working with Jane in the 1970’s as a research assistant on baboon behaviour. Just like Jane, he fell in love with Gombe and has stayed on to become the Head Researcher for baboon studies and works alongside Dr. Deus, Director of Chimpanzee Research, and Dr. Shadrack Kamenya, Director of Conservation Science. Following an afternoon of interviews with the Gombe research team and chasing banana thieving baboons from my bedroom, I collapsed into bed and drifted off to sleep, counting imaginary chimpanzees swinging over my head.
Kate Garland, Roots & Shoots Australia’s Queensland State Coordinator, spending time with the Kasekela Chimpanzee community.
It was then that I felt complete admiration for Jane’s courage and perservance, for Gombe’s arduous inclines and high humidity leave very little time for rest when chasing the much more nimble chimpanzees. Nevertheless, all my perspiration was rewarded when ahead of me a black flash hurled through the bushes. This fuzzball, who I later found was Nasa, was followed by the rest of the Kasekela Chimpanzee community – they very community Jane studied. The group is lead by the recently appointed alpha-male Fudge, who gained power last year after a heated coup d’etat which resulted in the overthrow of the old tyrant Ferdinand. Most of the chimpanzees that Jane studied have passed away, but remaining stars include Gremlin, Gaia, Gizmo, Nasa, and Fudge. Surrounding them are their children and grandchildren, direct evidence for Gombe’s success in protecting chimpanzees for future generations. I spent one peaceful hour following the chimpanzees alongside the Gombe researchers who recorded their vocalisations and interactions. I will never forget how connected I felt when I would cross eyes with one of the chimpanzees, or when I heard the “human-like” giggles of the juvenile chimpanzees as they tussled in the leaves. After leaving the chimpanzees to finish their breakfast, I knew I was not just saying goodbye to the infamous chimpanzees of Gombe, but also my relatives, for they truly are are, in so many ways, our not too distant kin.
Kate enjoying Jane’s personal library.
From there I climbed to Jane’s Peak where, at the start of her studies, Jane would peer through her binoculars to locate the elusive chimpanzees. I also visited the feeding stations where Jane had her first and career-making encounter with David Greybeard and made amazing scientific discoveries about chimpanzee intelligence. Fortunately, my trek ended just as the storms rolled in. I sought refuge from the rain in Jane’s beautiful home tucked in the forest on the beach, sitting in her lounge room, drinking tea and absorbed in her excellent primate literature collection.
JGIA acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands and pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present.