Dr. Jane Goodall was just 10 years old when she read Tarzan of the Apes—at which point she decided she wanted to “go to Africa, live with wild animals and write books about them.” That dream came true when she met paleontologist Dr. Louis Leakey during a trip to Kenya, who hired her in 1960, at the age of 26, to study the chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania.
After discovering that the animals were under threat due to habitat destruction and illegal trafficking, Goodall went on to launch the Jane Goodall Institute, a conservation organization that now has 25 outposts around the world, in 1977. “Not only [are we] part of nature, we depend on it,” she tells Vogue from her childhood home in Bournemouth, where she still lives today. “And as one species after another disappears from that ecosystem because of us, the ecosystem weakens and eventually will collapse. That’s happening all around the world—it’s scary.”
As Goodall turns 90, the primatologist shows no signs of letting up, as she continues to travel the world “300 days a year” to spread her message. In particular, it’s her organization’s Roots & Shoots program, an initiative designed to inspire young people across the globe, that keeps her going. “[It] is giving young people the energy and the commitment, and they are truly making a difference,” she says. “It’s my major hope for the future. And so I will carry on as long as I live, trying to grow roots and shoots in more and more places.”
Below, see nine life lessons that Goodall has learned from her nine decades on planet Earth.
Work hard
“My mother said if you want to do something, you have to work really hard. Take advantage of every opportunity, and if you don’t give up, hopefully you find a way—that message I’ve taken around the world.”
Find common ground
“If you’re talking to somebody who disagrees—I’m thinking of people like climate change deniers—don’t argue with them. You’ve got to get a feeling for who they are; try to find something that you share. Maybe you both love dogs, or books. Then find a story because you’ve got to reach the heart; it’s no good arguing with the head because they won’t listen.”
Have empathy
“When I got to Cambridge University, they told me you can’t be a good scientist and have empathy for your subjects. Fortunately, I had a wonderful teacher who taught me those scientists were absolutely wrong.”