On Monday 14 November, the Solihull School community were privileged to welcome Dr Jane Goodall DBE to the school’s Warwick Road campus for 'Reason for Hope' - a lecture followed by a Q&A about Dr Goodall’s extraordinary life. She spoke about her pioneering research into the lives of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, western Tanzania, the global reach of her incredible work with the Jane Goodall Institute and her reasons for hope.

Dr Goodall is Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a UN Messenger of Peace, the world’s foremost ethologist, a globally renowned conservationist and best-selling author.

Mr Penney, Head of the Prep School, said: "It was no surprise that Dr Goodall's Monday evening event sold out very quickly, and we have received wonderful feedback from those who attended. It was a privilege for us all to share such a special occasion with a global icon, who has an extraordinary ability to connect with the hearts and minds of people, of all ages and backgrounds, all over the world.”

On Tuesday morning, Dr Goodall returned to the Bushell Hall to talk to more than 450 pupils and teachers from over 30 primary schools about her outstanding education programme for young eco-minded activists - Roots & Shoots. J2 pupils from Solihull Prep School’s Roots & Shoots Club, led by Mrs Penney and Mrs Harper, were delighted to meet Jane and tell her all about their after-school eco activities. Roots & Shoots is Jane Goodall’s environmental and humanitarian programme for young people of all ages and is now active in more than 65 countries.

Mr Penney added: “Many of the schools who attended are now planning to start up their own Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots Club. This is such wonderful news and will lead to a collective of tremendous initiatives across our locality. Beyond the feel-good factor so much good has come out of these events and, in time, even more good will emerge.”

Dr Goodall said: “It was exciting to learn about the Roots & Shoots projects under way at Solihull School and i hope that many of the schools who attended my talk will want to form groups.  Together we can change the world!”

A very generous donor matched the Solihull School ‘Reason for Hope’ event revenues, resulting in a total of over £12,000, every penny of which will go to the Jane Goodall Institute UK to support the core programmes of JGI around the world.

 

If you would like to make a gift-aid friendly donation directly to the Jane Goodall Institute UK, you can do so here: Jane Goodall/Donate. Details of Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots Programme, UK can be found here: https://www.rootsnshoots.org.uk/ or www.janegoodall.org.uk