A few passing clouds. Low 48F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

A few passing clouds. Low 48F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Renowned primatologist and ethologist Jane Goodall speaks Monday night at the Center for the Arts, where she accepted an award honoring the Murie family. The Muries were pioneering conservationists who championed the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act and debated environmental issues on their front porch. Photo by Billy Arnold, Jackson Hole News&Guide. 

Renowned primatologist and ethologist Jane Goodall speaks Monday night at the Center for the Arts, where she accepted an award honoring the Murie family. The Muries were pioneering conservationists who championed the passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act and debated environmental issues on their front porch. Photo by Billy Arnold, Jackson Hole News&Guide. 

JACKSON —When Jane Goodall was asked Monday what’s next in her decades-long career, she didn’t hesitate.

That drew a laugh from the sold-out crowd at the Center for the Arts in Jackson where Goodall, the renowned primatologist and ethologist who first discovered that chimpanzees, like humans, use tools, was honored with a Murie Spirit of Conservation Award by Teton Science Schools. 

Ten years ago, Goodall said she would have said something like visit the remote areas in Papua, New Guinea. But now Goodall said she “can’t do that.” So, having thought about death and read books about near-death experiences, she thinks two things could happen when you die.

“There’s either nothing, or there’s something,” Goodall said.

“So if that’s true, can you think of a greater adventure than finding out what that is?”

Goodall has been nothing if not a consummate question asker. 

In her acceptance speech, she regaled the crowd with tales of the first questions she’d asked: Wondering how worms move without any legs, trying to figure out what hole on a chicken was large enough to lay an egg and why Tarzan married “the wrong Jane.”

But Goodall also talked about her first trips to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, where her initial observations of chimpanzees turned into a decades-long — and ongoing — study of humanity’s closest relative. That led her to lobby the National Institutes of Health to stop medical research on chimpanzees, which it did in 2015. 

She talked about lifting people out of poverty to prevent environmental destruction, the connection between population growth, education and the environment, and the role young people can play in changing the world.

Before the event, young people said Goodall motivated them.

“She’s an inspiration for young people like me,” said Annabel Millham, 12, who’s interested in science and biology in particular. “She did a lot of work for females in the scientific community.”

But Goodall, who shared the stage with Juan Martinez Pineda, a Teton Science Schools alumnus and National Geographic Explorer who received a “Rising Leader” award in the Murie’s legacy, also talked about the brave women like her mother who helped her become the conservation icon she is today — a title she rejected.

Martinez Pineda, for his part, dedicated his award to his community.

Having grown up in South Central Los Angeles, and making his way to the Tetons after a high school teacher recommended he apply for a summer program with the Teton Science Schools, Martinez Pineda took time in his speech to reflect on his roots as an undocumented immigrant who descended from the Zapotec indigenous people of Oaxaca, Mexico, and became a citizen in the last three years. Now, he runs a program, Fresh Tracks, which connects urban and indigenous youth with “the healing power of the outdoors” — a power he first experienced in the Tetons 20 years back — aiming to bring under-represented youth voices to the table.

“For the immigrant and indigenous ones who stand resilient, for the ones who are seeking to place and heal and find their voice — this award is for you,” Martinez Pineda said. “We too belong on a stage with Dr. Jane Goodall. And we too can right the wrongs of conservation so that the future of this movement does not move forward without the voices of those closest to the pain who must also be closest to the solutions and power.”

Goodall has also focused in recent years on bringing youth together through her Roots and Shoots program, which aims to give young people across the globe tools to impact their communities in ways they care about. It’s currently in 65 countries, Goodall said, with members from kindergarten to university. 

Goodall said the kids she works with have given her hope in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss.

“They’re so energetic and determined,” she said.

And, through Roots and Shoots, she asks students one thing to get them going.

“You can’t solve the problems of the world,” Goodall said. “But what can you do in your communities?”

Whether that’s tackling homelessness or stopping dumping plastic in the ocean, Goodall said working locally can connect people with others that feel the same way and are working on issues in their own communities. 

And she believes it helps overcome siloing, or working on one issue at a time, which obstructs progress. She gave the example of shutting down a coal mine, which cuts greenhouse gases that warm the planet — but also leaves people without jobs and can lead them to sink into poverty and consequently harm the environment.

“So we need to collaborate. We need to think holistically. We need to work together,” Goodall said. “And if we can’t work together to solve these problems collectively, then we’re doomed.”

But the students who watched Goodall speak were uplifted by her confidence in them.

“It’s just such an amazing moment to see her and see how she really looks up to the younger people,” said Augustine Porter, 16, a Mountain Academy high schooler. Porter grew up in Jackson Hole.

“I’ve always known how special nature is and how amazing it is to be out in Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone,” Porter said. “I feel like it’s a responsibility of mine to really show people that it is important and that we need to take care of the natural world around us. Her work is super inspiring.”

Porter’s friend, Gwendolin “Dolin” Kinney, 16, liked that Goodall encouraged the crowd to start small.

“I don’t have to solve all the world's problems,” they said. “She’s like, ‘I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to go and do what you think is right. I’m asking you to use your spirit. Use your community.’ ”

Kinney described Goodall’s as an “indomitable spirit,” one who just keeps powering through — and not in a negative or “self-deprecating” way. Rather, Kinney saw Goodall’s message as empowering and “self-building.”

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Letters to the Editor Submit News Submit an Obituary

A few passing clouds. Low 48F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

A few passing clouds. Low 48F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.

Abundant sunshine. High 71F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.