After her death at age 91, Jane Goodall’s environmental and conservation legacy resounds far beyond the wildlife she dedicated her life to protect.

Through her advocacy with the Jane Goodall Institute, established in 1977, Goodall inspired several new generations of conservationists through her youth projects, like the Roots and Shoots Initiative.

The Conservation Foundation – a nonprofit that works primarily in DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties, but has also done projects in Cook, DeKalb, Grundy and LaSalle counties – recently sent several teens in their youth training program, Green Guardians, to hear Goodall speak at the Jane Goodall Institute’s Good For All green careers fair in Chicago.

“The teens shared it was an unforgettable experience and they left truly inspired to be change agents in the world,” said Kyla Muhammad, Will County program director for The Conservation Foundation. “Goodall was an inspiration not only for her groundbreaking research as a primatologist, but as a peacemaker and a conservationist that served to catalyze youth to care for the environment.”

After hearing Goodall speak last spring, Jessica Mino, The Conservation Foundation’s Kane/Kendall County program director, said a specific Goodall quote drives her each day to make a difference.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you,” Goodall said. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Mino said Goodall taught the world to have compassion for all living creatures and forever changed how women are represented in science.

“She had a strong message of hope, even when problems seem insurmountable, often encouraging people to act locally for collective impact,” Mino said. “All our actions add up, especially when we encourage and inspire others to take steps to care for the planet. She profoundly spoke of the need for compassion for others. She passionately spoke of how brilliant and unique other creatures were, including her beloved chimpanzees.”

While working with mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda in 2004, Stephen McCracken liaised with the Jane Goodall Institute to further primate conservation research. McCracken is the director of the Conservation Foundation’s DuPage River Salt Creek workgroup.

“Her ideas expressed as ‘the tapestry of life,’ touched on the interconnectedness between humans and the environment,” McCracken said. “[Her philosophy taught] that the local populations, the farmers around the park, needed to be a part of the conservation effort or it would fail.”

McCracken said Goodall’s philosophy helped inspire his group’s project, the Clouds Ecolodge, a hotel and trekking center staffed and run entirely by local farmers living on the edge of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. He said Goodall’s inspiration will continue driving those protecting the home of around half the world’s remaining population of mountain gorillas.

While teaching the next generation of veterinary students at Joliet Junior College Professor Eileen McKee said Goodall was a personal hero of hers who she had the privilege of meeting multiple times. She called Goodall a “trailblazer” for those in the veterinary field desiring to better humanity’s understanding.

“She was an advocate for women in areas of behavior, conservation and research,” McKee said. “She challenged norms demonstrating the ability of women to explore areas of research in a previously male-dominated field. She continued making a difference by speaking truth to power, inspiring the next generations up to her passing.”

Last spring, the college held a study abroad program for veterinary technology and environmental biology students to practice conservation while researching wildlife in the Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya.

McKee said Goodall’s life is an example of the self-agency we share in crafting the world around us.

“She made a huge difference to many of our lives and was always hopeful that we could make needed changes to our world,” McKee said. “Her life’s work will echo for generations to come.”

Maria Anna Rafac, JJC’s campus sustainability coordinator and professor, said Goodall’s legacy will be defined by how the next generation picks up her torch.

“There is a huge hole in the heart of conservation by her passing,” Rafac said. “She was a pioneer and role model for so many of us. In education, we are always hopeful that somewhere out there is a young student or two ready to take up the cause and keep her work moving forward and her legacy alive.”

Tara Neff, executive director of The Nature Foundation of Will County, said people can continue Goodall’s legacy right in their own backyards.

“Goodall was a legend in her own time, she was a powerful woman who attracted so many others to the field through her work to protect nature, inspire discovery, and bring people and nature together.”

To learn more about the Jane Goodall Institute, including its youth and volunteer conservation programs, visit janegoodall.org.