The Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots Awards 2010
As part of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots programme, schools from across the UK were invited to Regent’s Park, London last week to take part in a prestigious Awards ceremony in the presence of Dr Jane Goodall.The event took place at the Zoological Society of London’s headquarters - a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats and where Dr Jane saw her first chimpanzee.Students prepared creative showcases of their contribution in the area of people, animals and the environment and described to Dr. Goodall and the other participants and guests what they had achieved, why it was important and how they would build on their work for the future preservation of the planet.Schools were presented with certificates and awards from Dr. Jane Goodall.[gallery link="file" order="ASC" columns="5"]The Highland Facilitator Team in Ardersier, a Gold Winner, who were not able to attend the awards, got a special surprise when Dr Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist, environmentalist and humanitarian, phoned them from her home in Bournemouth.Instead, representative Jasmina Marcheva flew up to Inverness on Saturday to present the group with a gold award and group member Amy Robertson, 17, received the UK individual award for outstanding contribution and was given a special hand crafted painting from Africa.She said:
“Jane gave us a chimpanzee greeting which was lovely and we were laughing. It was a bit bizarre speaking to her as she is someone we all look up to. I love being part of the project – it makes me feel better.”
The Home Facilitator Team has proved that every individual can make a difference and teamwork can make a big change. The members are very supportive of each other, and their teacher, Justine Robertson, who started the group 18 months ago, says
“Every each member deserved to win the Individual Award as they all are inspiring”.
Tara Golshan, Executive Director, of the programme says
“The work of this team has been extraordinary and has demonstrated the responsibility, commitment and dedication of its young people through Justine’s effective leadership. Especially in light of their personal obstacles. They are an example to young people today both across the UK and around the Globe as to how to make a positive contribution to society as a whole. We are very proud to have them as part of our network”.
Dr Goodall travels 300 days of each year campaigning for the change needed to get us living in a sustainable manner. As she states,
'we don't inherit the world from our ancestors - we borrow it from our children....'
Roots & Shoots now has almost 1000 groups in the UK alone and educational programs in 120 countries with thousands of young people involved across the globe.