In an impactful, previously unaired interview from months before her death, activist Jane Goodall urged people to act on issues that matter to them.
"Just do something," she said in the interview, filmed in Tanzania in July and posted on YouTube by Age Of Union (@AgeOfUnion) founder Dax Dasilva, The Washington Post reported.
"People come to me and say: 'Well, look at the world, look at the wars, look at the destruction of the environment, the poverty, the suffering, the destruction of the soil with industrial agriculture. What can I do? I'm just one person,'" Goodall said. "It's overwhelming. We have this stupid saying, 'Think globally, act locally.' But no, act locally first, and do something."
She said choosing something that matters to you and acting on it, whether it be a beach or trail cleanup, planting a community garden, or anything else, can help combat the feeling that there is nothing you can do to help the environment.
Goodall came to conservation through her work with chimpanzees in Africa, realizing that you have to help people as well so they can protect the environment and the wildlife that call it home.
In her later years, she shifted a large portion of her energy into her organization Roots & Shoots, through which she worked to empower the next generation of conservationists. She made clear to Dasilva that the cause requires people of all ages.
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"It's not true that older people can't change because they do," Goodall said. "I've had many, many people — older people — come up after a lecture and say, 'Well Jane, I'd given up, but I promise you now I'll do my bit.'"
Whether it be through land preservation, wildlife protection, or other efforts, community and individual conservation efforts have been shown to be incredibly effective. And, to Goodall's point that action breeds hope, it sets an example for others to act as well.
"Then you'll want to do more," Goodall said. "And then you'll inspire others to join in."
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