Photo Courtesy of Drake University

Dr. Jane Goodall is a hero of the conservation community. She is best known for her pioneering studies of wild chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, and she now heads the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). JGI promotes ape conservation, ape welfare and the well-being of people who live in ape range countries.

Dr. Goodall travels and lectures tirelessly to raise funds to support JGI’s work and to promote conservation awareness. She visited Des Moines in 2005, as part of the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture series at Drake University. The title of her lecture, “Reason for Hope” echoes one of her recent books, which supports her optimism about environmental conservation. Great Ape Trust took the occasion to make an unrestricted contribution to JGI.