Conservationist Jane Goodall won the Templeton Prize in Science

Jane Goodall, the conservationist recognized for her expertise with chimpanzees and her global advocacy for environmental causes, won the 2021 Templeton Prize, Awarded to those who distinguish themselves by the fusion of science and spirituality.

Goodall, born in London in 1934, traveled to Kenya in 1957 where she met the famous anthropologist and paleontologist Louis Leakey. In 1960, at his invitation, he began his groundbreaking study of chimpanzees in what is now Tanzania.

His research transformed the field of primatology and led experts and the general public to better understand the social and emotional complexity of animals. She was the first to discover that chimpanzees performed tasks previously considered unique to humans, such as tool development, and she showed that each chimpanzee has its own unique personality.

“His findings have profoundly altered the global understanding of animal intelligence and enriched our understanding of human nature in inspiring and exciting ways,” said Heather Templeton Dill, President of the John Templeton Foundation, recipient of multiple awards.

The award was established in 1972 by the late philanthropist Sir John Templeton and it is one of the largest in the world, with a total of 1.1 British pounds ($ 1.56 million). It has been won by luminaries such as Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Last year it was won by Dr Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health and leader of the Human Genome Project.

Goodall worked for many years alone in the jungle to better understand the nature of chimpanzees. “When you are alone in nature, you become a part of nature and the human character does not meet you. It’s almost like an extrasensory experience, hearing different sounds, perceiving different smells and being part of this wonderful tapestry of life, ”he said. “Every time a small species goes missing, it might not seem like a big deal. But the thread is pulled out of this tapestry and the image weakens as more threads are pulled, until this tapestry, once so beautiful, is in tatters, ”he said. added.

As its fame grew, it spread to a wide range of activities, including humanitarian initiatives and the promotion of the ethical treatment of animals. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to support the study and protection of chimpanzees while improving the well-being of many local communities. In 1991, he founded Roots & Shoots, an environmental and humanitarian program whose hands-on projects have benefited communities, animals and the environment in more than 65 countries.

“Some people seem to believe that we can live outside of nature, but we can’t. We’re animals too, you know, by definition. We simply have (less) hair and have had an explosive development of our intellect. But we seem to be failing when it comes to the wisdom, the wisdom that says, “The decision I make now, how will it affect future generations or the health of the planet?” He thinks.

Over the past decades, Goodall has averaged over 300 travel days each year, raising awareness around the world about nature, conservation and the potential for collective action to create change. The coronavirus pandemic has stopped these trips, She continued to have a strong influence through her virtual participation in events and conferences involving thousands of people in dozens of countries.

He also started a podcast from his childhood home in England and, at 87, reached millions of people via social media.

Raised as a Christian, Goodall said she developed her own sense of spirituality in the forests of Tanzania, essentially believing that all living things and the natural world are connected by divine force. And she remembered her mother telling her when she was a child, “You will be brought up in a Christian family, so you worship God. But you might have been born in Egypt and then you would worship Allah, or you might have been born in a Buddhist country or with a Hindu religion. “

“And she said there can only be one God,” Goodall asserted, “and then what name we call her or, it doesn’t really matter.” As much as he respects science, he prefers it to have limits. “The world is full of magic and surprises,” he said. “I like to be open-minded and I like to think about magic. I don’t want us to find all the answers. … One day we will learn the answers, but not on this planet, ”he concluded.

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