The Duke of Sussex joined conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall for a Roots & Shoots Global Leadership Meeting in Windsor today. The engagement also ties in with the conservation theme this month on the Sussex’s Instagram page.
It was a short distance from Frogmore Cottage to St. George’s House at Windsor Castle for Prince Harry today. He was greeted on arrival by Dr. Goodall, someone he has looked up to since childhood and someone who he has met twice before. Jane Goodall has even visited The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and baby Archie at their home last month. Meghan reportedly told Dr. Goodall that she was an inspiration of hers since she was a child.
Dr. Jane Goodall is a primatologist and anthropologist. She is considered to be the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees and is best known for her study of social and family interactions of the wild animal which lasted over 50 years. In 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, a global wildlife and conservation organisation which aims to protect the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
Roots & Shoots is a global programme which offers hands-on projects to young people. It aims to ignite and inspire the belief that each person can take action to make the world a better place for people and animals and also making the environment better. It was founded in by Dr. Goodall in 1991, then featuring only 12 high school students from nine schools in Tanzania. Today, Roots & Shoots involves students from over 50 countries around the world.
For the past six years, Dr. Goodall has convened a select group of these students in Windsor. There they discuss local and global problems and encourage each other in the work that they carry out and the projects they are working on.
Harry, who is committed to conservation efforts and has been for many years, joined this year’s students to see their projects.
Upon arrival, after being greeted by Dr. Goodall, the Prince was given an overview of the programme. He listened intently before he got to his feet to address those gathered there.
In a speech, Harry quoted his own grandmother saying: “As my grandmother The Queen once said – ‘Sometimes the world’s problems are so big we think we can do little to help. On our own we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.’”
He also praised Dr. Goodall, saying of her; “I met Jane last year, and my affirmation was probably similar to how you all felt this week when you met her for the first time. That she is a woman of kindness, warmth, immense knowledge and a softness that’s needed by mankind just as much as it is chimpkind. I’ve been admiring her work since I was a kid and it was so wonderful to find that she was even more amazing in person. She even treated me to a chimp welcome which only Jane can do! Well, and chimps!”
In a moment of spontaneity, Harry and Jane performed a ‘chimp greeting’ following the speech. Dr. Goodall taught the prince how a male and female chimp greet one another when they first met last year. It certainly garnered laughter from those watching.
Prince Harry and @JaneGoodallInst demonstrate a chimpanzee greeting! @RootsandShoots pic.twitter.com/CrRcyXArqZ
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) July 23, 2019
The Duke got to enjoy some presentations from representatives of different countries present from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas before he got to meet them one-on-one. He spoke to them on many issues, including plastic which he felt very strongly about.
With the meeting drawing to a close everyone made their way outside into the warm Windsor sun, there they posed for a group photo before the Prince made his goodbyes and set off on the short visit home.
1 comment
Chimpanzee is a small and very intelligent african ape with black or brown fur. Prince harry’s chimp greeting to dr. jane goodall implies commitments of prince harry and meghan to many global problem solving in africa including conservation of natural resouces in africa. very impressed.