Hope for Animals and Their World
Page 37
Brent Houston told me of the time when a young black-footed ferret approached him as he sat near the den, in the first light of day. “Without warning, he approached my foot and sniffed my hiking boot … I thought the pounding of my heart would scare him, but I remained still, desperate for some sort of connection. He looked right up at me and at my face, into my eyes. And then the most extraordinary thing happened. This young ferret, looking up at me with his big round eyes, put his little black foot on my hiking boot and he held it there. I looked right at him and he looked at me and he saw me smile. It was one of the most satisfying moments in my long career of observing wildlife. Here was one of the last black-footed ferrets in the world reaching out to me, trusting me, perhaps even asking for my help.”
It is this—this link between the human being and the other animals with whom we share Planet Earth, this connection we can establish with another life-form—that for many makes it possible to carry on. To carry on with work that can be so hard, carry on despite the frustrations and setbacks, and sometimes the outright hostility or ridicule of those who believe that to save any species from extinction is sentimental and a waste of money and resources.
But they cannot do it alone, these Keepers of the Planet. To save Planet Earth, each of us who cares must become involved in protecting and restoring the wild places and the animals and plants that live there. We hope that this book, together with our Web site, overflowing with stories of passionate, dedicated, and always hopeful people, whose efforts have saved myriad life-forms from extinction, will encourage those who are out there now, working tirelessly as they try to save other highly endangered animals and plants, each one precious and unique. And those who are striving to prevent further species from becoming endangered. And yet others fighting to restore and protect the environment. Their tasks sometimes seem almost impossible—and if they had no hope of success, they would surely give up.
If we are without hope we fall into apathy. Without hope nothing will change. That is why we feel it is so desperately important to share our own, irrepressible hope for the animals and their world.
Historical photo taken on my veranda in Dar es Salaam on the day Roots & Shoots began in February 1991. (JGI)
Appendix
What You Can Do
I meet so many people as I travel around the world who are deeply depressed by what is happening to our planet. The media are continually publishing, among a great deal of other shocking news, stories of deadly pollution, melting ice caps, devastated landscapes, loss of species, shrinking water supplies, and all the rest. In the face of such desperate information—which unfortunately is mostly true—people tend to feel helpless and often hopeless. “How can you remain optimistic?” is, as I have said, the question I am asked most often.
The best way I know to counteract despair is to do everything I can to make a difference, even in the smallest way, every day. To take some action to do something about at least some of the bad things that are going on. That is why I left Gombe and the forests I love—to try to do my bit to raise awareness of the plight of the chimpanzees and their forests, and to do whatever I could myself.
It is also important to realize that bad news is more likely to be published as being more “newsworthy.” In fact, there are also many truly wonderful things going on as people work selflessly to make this a better world. One of the reasons we wanted to write Hope for Animals and Their World was to share some of the good news.
Throughout this book and on our Web site, there are stories of biologists who are working tirelessly to save endangered species. But there are countless others, members of the “general public,” who also play a vital role. They often get no credit, their names, outside the area where they live, often unknown. And because sometimes their actions—demonstrating against some destructive plan of industry or government or writing letters to the relevant authorities—are not always successful, the true significance of the role they play is often underestimated. Yet in the long run, these are the people who truly matter. They donate their money, skills, or time, they help to raise awareness and persuade others to join them.
In all walks of life, people are contributing to the growing awareness of what is going on—writers, photographers, filmmakers, and those guiding an increasingly eager public on trips into nature. NGOs, with their education programs, encourage people to volunteer in field projects, learning about the natural world and taking action to help protect it. Landowners may sign Safe Harbor agreements, protecting the habitat of an endangered species; others may sign a conservation easement, receiving financial benefits for helping wildlife by not developing or cultivating their land.
And then there is the role played by youth. Why am I devoting so much time to working with children? Because it is not much use for me or anyone else to work desperately to save animals and their world if we are not, at the same time, educating our youth to be better stewards than we have been.
ROOTS & SHOOTS—WHAT YOUTH CAN DO
In view of the gloom and doom everywhere, I was hardly surprised to find, as I traveled around the world, that so many young people seemed depressed, angry, or apathetic. It was, they told me, because their future had been compromised and there was nothing they could do about it.
We have indeed compromised their future. There is an indigenous proverb: “We have not inherited this planet from our parents; we have borrowed it from our children.” But it is not true. When you borrow, there is the intention of paying back. We have been relentlessly stealing our children’s future. Yet it is not true there is nothing to be done about it.
My contribution was to start our Roots & Shoots humanitarian and environmental program. This encourages its members to roll up their sleeves and undertake projects that improve things for people, for animals, and for the environment—projects that have a positive impact on the world around us. Its most important message is that every individual matters and has a role to play—that each of us makes a difference every day. And that the cumulative result of thousands of millions of even small efforts is major change.
The name is symbolic. The first tiny roots and shoots of a germinating seed look so tiny and fragile—hard to believe this can grow into a big tree. Yet there is so much life force in that seed that the roots can work their way through boulders to reach water, and the shoot can work its way through cracks in a brick wall to reach the sun. Eventually the boulders and the wall—all the harm, environmental and social, that has resulted from our greed, cruelty, and lack of understanding—will be pushed aside. Just as hundreds and thousands of roots and shoots—the youth of the world—can solve many of the problems their elders have created for them.
Roots & Shoots youth leader Washo Shadowhawk, from Beaverton, Oregon, has been passionate about saving injured animals, especially snakes, since age two. Shown here with Sandy the bearded dragon and Monty the python, whom he rescued from the exotic pet trade. (Meadow Shadowhawk)
The program was born in Dar es Salaam in 1991when twelve students, representatives from several secondary schools, had gathered on my veranda to learn more about the behavior of Tanzania’s wildlife. They were shocked to hear about poaching and other problems and wanted to learn more and help. So they started clubs in their schools, and we organized gatherings to discuss such issues.
How amazing that from such a simple beginning the program has, at the start of 2009, spread to about a hundred countries with some nine thousand active groups, involving young people from preschool through university and beyond. Roots & Shoots is unique in many ways: It links young people from many different cultures, religions and countries; combines care and concern for animals, people, and the environment; and involves people of all ages—there are even groups in retirement homes and prisons! With its shared philosophy, it is spreading seeds of global peace. And it is creating leaders of tomorrow’s world who understand that this life is about more than just making money.
I encourage you to check out the book’s Web site, wh
ere I have brought together information about the myriad wonderful projects undertaken by Roots & Shoots to benefit wildlife. And it profiles some quite exceptional young people who are part of our Roots & Shoots Global Youth Leadership Council. I hope that, whatever your age, you will become involved in some way with this program or one of the thousands of other youth groups around the world. You can be a part of this movement simply by consciously doing your bit, every day, to make this a better world for all life. That is the best antidote to despair that I know.
This section is for everyone, young or old, who cares about the animals with whom we share the planet and who is tired of sitting on the sidelines. It provides information about ways you might help the species profiled in this book, organizations you can contact, ways in which you might volunteer.
A CRITICAL MASS
But what is most important is that you do something. Don’t feel that, because you cannot do all you would like to do (if you only had more time, more money, more influence), then it is better to do nothing. When you read, in your local paper, that a woodland area you love is slated to be developed, don’t just sigh and shrug—take action. Any action. Find out more, who is involved, why it is happening. Write letters. Attend meetings in your town hall. Make your views known. You may not succeed—but you may. If you don’t try, you won’t know.
If one of the stories in this book captures your imagination, moves you and you want to help—contact the relevant organization and ask what you can do. And remember, even if you can only afford to send a small donation—it was thousands of tiny amounts donated that made President Obama’s election campaign so hugely successful!
It is going to take a critical mass of people who truly care about the future of our planet and our children to turn things around. Please join forces with the remarkable, dedicated men and woman whose efforts are described in these pages. Please help us to achieve our goal of saving the animals and their world.
GLOBAL ACTION
For many of the endangered animal and plant species in this book, the following resources may help you obtain more information about conservation activities and learning how you can make a difference.
Support the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). The organization advances the power of individuals to improve the environment for all living things. While continuing Dr. Jane Goodall’s efforts to study and protect chimpanzees, JGI has also become a leader in innovative conservation approaches that better the lives of local people. In addition, the institute’s global youth program inspires young people of all ages to become environmental and humanitarian leaders. Visit JGI’s Web site: www.janegoodall.org.
Join Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. The Roots & Shoots global network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world for people, animals, and the environment. Hundreds of thousands of young people all over the world identify problems in their communities and take action through service projects, youth-led campaigns, and an interactive Web site. To take part, please visit www.rootsandshoots.org.
Help communities, protect chimpanzees. JGI enables communities living near chimpanzee habitat to become partners in protecting these amazing creatures by assisting villagers with their most immediate needs such as water, sanitation, and health care, while fostering livelihoods that do not harm the environment. Visit JaneGoodall.org to learn how you can donate to JGI and support these critical programs.
Become a Chimpanzee Guardian. At the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of Congo, JGI provides safe and caring habitats for orphan chimpanzees—victims of the illegal commercial bushmeat and pet trades. You can support this effort by becoming a Chimpanzee Guardian. To find out more, please visit www.janegoodall.org/chimp_guardian.
Support Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. This organization is directly involved with the conservation and protection of many species in this book. Visit www.durrellwildlife.org to read more, to adopt animals, and to make donations.
Play a role in conservation by contacting the Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org. This organization protects a variety of vital marine and land habitats. You can get involved by becoming a member, subscribing to the e-newsletter, making donations, and even creating your own personalized nature home page.
Get inspired through Conservation International at www.conserva tion.org. This nonprofit protects threatened species and habitats through an innovative approach that combines the best of what community and science each has to offer. In addition to making donations, you can take action by calculating your impact on the earth, obtain information about ecotourism, support individual campaigns, and learn about career opportunities in conservation.
Join the World Wildlife Fund at www.worldwildlife.org to work toward a stable, sustainable future for humans, animals, and ecosystems. You can make donations, adopt an animal, become a member of the conservation action network, or support individual campaigns such as Take Action for Earth Hour.
Protect wildlife and wild habitats throughout the world by contacting the Wildlife Conservation Society at www.wcs.org. In addition to its global conservation projects, this organization also manages several wildlife parks in New York such as the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo. You can get involved by visiting one of the parks, becoming a member, donating your time or funds, and supporting individual campaigns such as the No Child Left Inside Act.
Be a part of the solution to some of the world’s most complex environmental challenges by contacting the International Union for the Conservation of Nature at www.iucn.org. You can learn more about their global programs, search through their database for a conservation organization near you, and become a donor.
Check out www.fieldtripearth.org—a project of the North Carolina Zoological Society. Field Trip Earth is a global resource for teachers, students, and proponents of wildlife conservation.
Enroll in an earth expeditions course at Earth Expeditions ( www.earthexpeditions.org) or earn a master’s degree through the local field program ( www.projectdragonfly.org). These programs engage teachers, environmental professionals, and others directly in conservation at field sites worldwide.
Educate yourself about the world’s most endangered species by visiting Earth’s Endangered Creatures at www.earthsendangered.com. This Web site lists the facts about each species as well as organizations you can contact that are involved in their conservation.
Contact your favorite conservation organization such as the National Audubon Society at www.audubon.org, Defenders of Wildlife at www.defenders.org, National Wildlife Federation at www.nwf.org, or the Environmental Defense Fund at www.edf.org to get involved or make a donation.
Listen to howls, screeches, roars, and much more whenever you receive a phone call. The Center for Biological Diversity offers free endangered species ringtones and phone wallpapers. Visit www.rareearthtones.org/ringtones to learn more. You can contact the center directly at www.biologicaldiversity.org to find out more about their conservation campaigns and offer your support.
DOS AND DON’TS
Below is a list of dos and don’ts to help protect the animal, plants, and habitats of our fragile Planet Earth.
Support only those zoos and aquariums that are accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums ( www.aza.org).
Drive safely, since many animals must cross roadways in order to find food.
Keep the roads clean. Litter attracts wild animals, causing them to be hit by cars.
Be aware of what’s happening on your public lands (national parks, national forests, Bureau of Land Management) and how they are managing wildlife.
Don’t purchase products from companies with bad environmental records. Your financial support will only encourage bad behavior.
Be mindful of plant and animal habitat when you are out in nature, on bike trails, and so forth.
Support organizations that advocate for sustainable ocean policies, particularly in international waters.
Limit seafood intake an
d educate yourself by visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program at www.montereybay aquarium.org. Print its pocket-size recommendations or download them onto your i-phone.
Reduce your carbon footprint. Find ideas and inspiration from the Global Footprint Network at www.footprintnetwork.org.
ANIMALS AND INSECTS
ABBOTT’S BOOBY
Take Action
Learn more about the Christmas Island Seabird Project at www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/zim/oeko/seabird_e.html. Sponsored by the University of Hamburg, this project investigates the Abbott’s booby as well as two other threatened bird species—the Christmas Island frigatebird and the red-tailed tropicbird—in order to improve conservation efforts. There are opportunities for students to get involved through field assistantships and research projects.
Meet the Species
Visit Christmas Island National Park and take a guided bird-watching tour. For more information about the park, contact the Christmas Island Tourism Association at www.christmas.net.au.
AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE
Take Action
Contact the Roger Williams Park Zoo located in Providence, Rhode Island, at www.rwpzoo.org. You can learn more about their award-winning American burying beetle recovery program as well as make donations to the beetle and other endangered species.
Remove electronic bugzappers. These attract and kill burying beetles in addition to many other beneficial insect species.
Meet the Species
Visit a zoo that has a captive breeding program such as Roger Williams Park Zoo and the Saint Louis Zoo in Missouri.