Institute News
Life as a Roots & Shoots International Volunteer in Tanzania
December 2011
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Growing up among the lakes and wilderness of Northern Ontario, I was continually fascinated by animals and the intricacies of nature. I can remember learning about the work of Jane Goodall in elementary school, and thinking that someday I too would like to be a woman studying wildlife. I have always been an active community volunteer, and an advocate for animal rights and environmental conservation. In high school, when I was fortunate to be introduced to Roots & Shoots (R&S), I immediately realized that the foundation of the R&S program articulates exactly what I had been trying to express for years. So when I was approaching my fourth and final year of studying Wildlife Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Guelph and realized that I needed to take a year off from school before continuing with graduate studies, making the decision to apply to volunteer with R&S in Tanzania seemed natural.
Now that I’m settled in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania after completing four months of my seven-month volunteer placement, I know that I couldn’t have made a better choice! Life here can be crazy, and my Swahili skills perhaps aren’t as good as they should be, but it is awesome to witness that R&S is truly a global family that has a real capacity to make the world a better place.
The R&S youth I work with here are really amazing. As I feel that I spent many of my high school days talking to friends about the latest TV shows, I am in awe that students here choose to spend hours talking about poverty, democracy, human rights, corruption and politics. Currently in 55 districts, the R&S Tanzania network continues to grow and implement successful projects.
Since the structure of R&S allows its members to do anything they are passionate about to create positive change, past volunteers in my position have had a wide range of backgrounds and interests, and have accomplished a large variety of projects. I have kept myself busy visiting clubs, starting new clubs, participating in large volunteer projects, event planning, visiting R&S tree nurseries, hosting club leader meetings, planning for new resource distribution, networking with other NGO’s, and making many R&S friendships.
Life in Tanzania takes a lot of initiative, patience and creativity, but experiencing a new culture is invaluable, and working with the R&S family here is extremely fun and rewarding! I would like to encourage anyone interested in the R&S Tanzania International Volunteer Program to seriously consider applying and make inquiries if you have any questions.
Erica Hall – Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Staff Spotlight: Dario Merlo, JGI-DRC
16-11-2011 - JGI USA
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Dario Merlo is the project coordinator for the Jane Goodall Institute’s community-centered conservation program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC-CCC). The DRC-CCC program is a holistic approach to conservation. By improving health care, providing reproductive health services, and supporting local people to develop sustainable and more efficient agricultural and livestock practices, the program aims to build communities’ capacity for conservation. As the project coordinator, Mr. Merlo is responsible for overseeing implementation of the DRC-CCC program while managing activities implemented in collaboration with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) and the Union of Associations for Gorilla Conservation and Community Development in Eastern DRC (UGADEC). More recently, Dario has led JGI's efforts to develop a Great Ape Conservation Action Plan for eastern DRC, in partnership with local, regional, and national government and nongovernment actors. |
Paint Party at Tchimpounga!
27-10-2011 - JGI USA
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This week, caregivers at the Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of Congo introduced the infant chimpanzee group to the world of art. The fruits of their enrichment activity: unique paintings for JGI. The staff’s attempt to get each chimp’s footprints on paper was quickly replaced with reckless abandon as the chimps grabbed paint, brushes, bowls, paper and sponges and did what they pleased with them…as usual! Alex, the newest arrival at the sanctuary, and wonderful Lemba, who is recovering from polio, were the only chimps who would cooperate with footprints. The others simply had a paint party and created all kinds of havoc on paper and on everything and everyone else nearby. |
Chimp Chatter
10-08-2011
Jane Lawton, Executive Director of JGI Canada, is back from a visit to our program sites in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alongside the author of The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, Andrew Westoll. If you missed it... Check out Jane's blog here for daily hits of life at Tchimpounga and more…
JGI Canada is a new partner of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership
03-08-2011
The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada (JGI) officially confirmed its adherence to the CBFP initiative. The JGI Canada is committed to abide by the principles of sustainable management of forest ecosystems in Central Africa. To this effect, the JGI Canada agrees to the principles of sustainable management of forest ecosystems in Central Africa, to work closely following the cooperation framework of the CBFP partners and commits itself to support the implementation of the COMIFAC convergence plan.
The Jane Goodall Institute - Budongo Ecotourism Development project
01-08-2011 - Tourism for Tomorrow
The Jane Goodall Institute has been active in Uganda since 1996. The Budongo Ecotourism Development Project (BEDP) was established in partnership with JGI and the National Forestry Authority (NFA) in 2006. The Budongo Forest Reserve, which is under the jurisdiction of the NFA is situated in north western Uganda and home to a substantial chimpanzee population of significant biodiversity importance.
The goal of the BEDP is to conserve biodiversity by reducing threats to the forest, woodlands and aquatic ecosystems through increased economic opportunities and conflict resolution for rural communities in selected areas around the Budongo Forest Reserve. In so doing, an agreement between JGI and NFA outlines each party's responsibilities including the establishment of a financial committee that will direct all profits from tourism activity to areas deemed a priority for the protection of the Budongo Forest Reserve. This includes conservation education in communities adjacent to Budongo Forest; increased monitoring and law enforcement for the Forest Reserve; and community development programmes.
JGI fights measles outbreak in Congo
20-07-2011 - JGI USA
In the Republic of Congo, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) recently assisted the Congolese Ministry of Health in its efforts to vaccinate local communities against a measles outbreak in the area surrounding the Tchimpounga Natural Reserve. The reserve serves as a protected area for wild chimpanzees and also contains JGI’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center (TCRC), the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in Africa. By transporting government health workers to remote villages surrounding the reserve, JGI helped safeguard public health and prevent the highly contagious disease from being transmitted to local communities, as well as to chimpanzees and JGI staff. In addition, JGI staff vaccinated all of the chimpanzees residing at TCRC.
Measles primarily affects children and can cause serious complications in malnourished or immunocompromised people. In addition, the disease can be transmitted from humans to chimpanzees. Vaccinating local human populations is one of the most effective methods for preventing the spread of the disease. If not for these mobile services, people would be required to walk long distances, sometimes as far as 12 miles, to reach vaccination sites. Those unable to make the walk, including the sick, elderly and young children, would otherwise remain vulnerable to the disease, which could increase the risk of further outbreaks.
Snares, steel jaw traps and chimpanzees
12-07-2011
Hunters in Uganda set traps for bush pigs, antelope and other prey. But these devices, which are illegal in protected areas, have killed many chimpanzees and maimed approximately 25 percent of the habituated chimp population in the country. It’s incredibly difficult to free and treat a chimpanzee caught in a snare or steel jaw trap. Rescuers must anaesthetize the chimp so that they can treat it. However, once tranquilized, the chimp often climbs immediately into the trees and then falls a great distance to the ground when the anesthesia takes effect. Previously, chimpanzees caught in traps and snares were left to die in the forest because intervention was considered too risky. Today, with the perfection of intervention techniques by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) veterinary team, chimpanzees caught in traps have a second chance at life. Equally important, every individual chimp saved represents the beginning of a future population. |
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JGI is the only organization in the world that has successfully anaesthetized chimpanzees in the wild. This expertise has been critical in freeing and treating chimpanzees caught in steel jaw traps and snares without causing further harm.
Area of Tchimpounga Natural Reserve expanded by 750 Percent!
July 2011 - JGI USA
Wonderful news! The Congolese government recently ratified a decree to expand the Tchimpounga Natural Reserve (TNR) by 750 percent. The Jane Goodall Institute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center, the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in Africa, lies within the current boundaries of the TNR. Expansion of the TNR will increase the amount of key protected habitat for chimpanzees and other species from roughly 17,000 to 129,000 acres, and will also secure protection of three nearby islands located in the Kouilou River. The recent expansion will:
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2011 Teachers workshop in Uganda
July 2011
Our new group of JGI teacher volunteers have arrived in Uganda!
They will be facilitating environmental workshops in Uganda throughout the month. |
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JGI: Helping girls stay in school
May 2011 - JGI USA
Educating Girls to Share Knowledge
JGI’s peer-to-peer education program equips young women with information on topics including HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health. JGI also provides training in life-planning skills designed to help girls successfully navigate the challenges of maturing into adulthood. The girls then return to their schools and communities and share what they've learned with their peers who are often more comfortable receiving information from people of the same age group rather than adults. The peer-to-peer education program is based in schools that currently participate in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, JGI’s global environmental and humanitarian youth program.
Digitizing Jane Goodall's legacy at Duke University
March 28, 2011 - Scientific American
Jane Goodall--who earned her Ph.D. in Ethology from Cambridge University despite not having Bachelor's or Master's degrees--revolutionized not only the way we understand chimpanzees, but also the way we understand ourselves. Duke University announced today that for the first time, fifty years of observational data from Gombe will be housed in the same location, in digitized format, so that additional researchers will be able to utilize it. Dr. Anne Pusey, chair of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke, will run the project, which will be known as the Jane Goodall Institute Research Center at Duke.
Read the article in Scientific American
Check out material from the Jane Goodall Institute Research Center at Duke University
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Uganda Project named for award
March 28, 2011 - East African Business Week
KAMPALA, UGANDA - Budongo Ecotourism development project has been nominated among the 12 finalists for the upcoming 'Tourism for tomorrow' Awards scheduled for May 17 - 19 in Las Vegas, United States.
The 12 finalists are drawn from 186 entries from over 60 countries carrying the flag for sustainable success.
The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards is an annual event organised by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in association with Travelport and the Travel Corporation's Conservation Foundation.
The awards recognize achievements among businesses and destinations across the full spectrum of the travel and tourism industry globally.
The Jane Goodall archives
From 1963-2010 - National Geographic
Take a look back at the historic National Geographic articles that brought Jane Goodall’s work with Gombe’s chimpanzees to the world.
