I still hold this ticket (shown above) in my wallet from the day I saw Dr. Jane Goodall speak on her “Reason for Hope” book tour. I had the fortune to meet my hero, Dr. Jane Goodall in 1999. Though our encounter was brief at a book signing, I remember how nervous I was to tell her how much she inspired me to study Environmental Science and Ecology. Although I do not remember her humble response, I do remember how comforted I felt by her warm spirit.
I graduated high school in 1992, two years after a resurgence to the environmental movement in 1990. I became extremely interested in rainforest ecology and conservation, especially when I learned the Amazon was losing a football field size of forest with the highest concentration of biodiversity on Earth every minute to deforestation. Dr. Jane Goodall was the only example I had of a woman conducting scientific research in the jungle. If she could do it, so could I. So, I set off to university to study environmental science.
At Lehigh University, we were required to take a field studies course to graduate. My options provided by the university were either geology or limnology, not tropical biology. So, I figured out how to earn my credit taking a course from the School for Field Studies in Costa Rica to learn about ecotourism and agroecology as models for sustainable development back in 1995.
On that trip, I met my soulmate, a best friend I have today. We camped one night in the northwest of Costa Rica in the Guanacaste National Park. Our professor told us how you could spot howler monkeys at sunrise there. Inspired by Dr. Jane, my friend and I woke up while it was still dark out with our flashlights, binoculars, cameras and tape recorder and hiked to the lookout peak where our professor told us to go. Walking up the steps in the dark, our first wildlife encounter was a venomous coral snake coiled up and sleeping on one of the steps. We tiptoed around it and passed by unscathed. When we made it to the top of the steps, sunrise was getting closer, and we started to hear little chirps from the birds near and far. The birds woke up the other animals in the forest below us. We turned on our tape recorder and captured it all. Soon after, we heard our first throat call from a howler monkey far away in the distance. We were ready to follow its call into the forest, but it turned out we didn’t have to.
Then, right behind us a loud throat call startled us. As the sun started to light up the sky, we quietly turned around and squatted to hide from the howler monkeys. When we pulled out our binoculars to look, we could see the dominant male howler sitting on the tree branch with both eyes on us. We were already spotted, and he was watching every move we made while the younger monkeys started gathering fruit and eating their breakfast. Taking cues from Dr. Jane, we simply sat and observed trying to hold our silence and keep our excitement to a faint whisper.
I will always remember that day my friend and I had our moment of being Dr. Jane Goodall, tracking howler monkeys in Costa Rica. Our shared experience set us on our paths: me, to study ecology in graduate school and ultimately work with cacao for the purpose of rainforest conservation and my friend to become a veterinarian.
Dr. Jane Goodall has changed the world in more ways than anyone can measure. She planted her seed in the minds and hearts of so many people. She opened the doors of science to so many young women. She gave voice to so many animals being mistreated. The message I carry with me from her is her message of hope. We must not give up hope. It is the fuel that drives positive change. It is the fire that feeds my ambition.
I invite you to join me in my endeavor to protect the rainforest by supporting the Amazon Conservation Team, in memory of Dr. Jane Goodall who sat on our Board of Advisors. You can also carry on her legacy and contribute to the Jane Goodall Institute.