updated October 2, 2025
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States’ highest civilian honour, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours.
Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden on January 4, 2025. The award recognized Dr. Jane’s activism, vision, and message of hope, which have mobilized a global movement to protect the planet.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” said Dr. Jane Goodall. “This recognition reflects the hope and action of so many people who inspire and motivate me every day in the firm belief that together we can and we must save the natural world for ourselves and future generations.”
Dr. Jane Goodall, an Inspiring Woman
- The Barbie Inspiring Women Series honors ethologist and activist Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (more at janegoodall.org), with a collectible Barbie doll made from recycled materials.
- The Dr. Jane Goodall Barbie doll comes equipped with a notebook and a pair of binoculars and wears field attire featuring a khaki shirt, shorts, and boots.
- This collectible doll is joined by a figure inspired by one of her most famous subjects, chimpanzee David Graybeard.
- The Dr. Jane Goodall Barbie doll is the first in the Inspiring Women Series to be made from recycled materials.
- This celebration of Dr. Jane Goodall’s decades of dedication, ground-breaking research, and heroic achievements makes a great gift for collectors and kids ages 6 years old and up.
(This and other posts on this blog contain affiliate links that may pay a small commission to this blog if you make a purchase. )
In the Shadow of Man-and chimpanzees
In 1960,26 year old Jane Goodall went to Tanzania to study chimpanzees. No one had studied chimps before, so little was known about their behavior in the wild. Biologically and genetically, chimps are closer to humans than any other animal, so scientists believed understanding their behavior could shed light on some aspects of human behavior.
Jane roamed the forests of the Gombe Stream Chimpanze Reserve in Tanzania watching the chimps first with binoculars then with direct observation at close range, even occasionally close enough to touch them. Her mother Vanne lived with her and a photographer Hugo van Lawick joined them.
Working together with nature and animals as their common interest,Jane and Hugo fell in love and married. Eventually she had a staff of research assistants and students involved in observation and reporting about the chimps and other animals.
In this book, written 10 years later, Dr. Goodall details her years of living among the chimps and her detailed observations and conclusions about their behavior. (For which she earned her doctorate degree.)
“like humans, chimpanzees are omnivores, feeding on vegetables, insects, and meat.”
Dr Goodall
Harvest for Hope-A Guide to Mindful Eating
Jane Goodall is just as interested in people as she is in chimpanzees. Despite the title this book is not about dining while listening to soothing music by candlelight to relax and de-stress.
Jane Goodall wants us to manage stress , not so much our own, but the stress of our planet, by producing, transporting, preparing, and eating our food in ways less harmful and wasteful to us and our planet.
Our food choices affect the environment as much as the environment affects our diet.
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Goodall reflected back on her life as a child in England when her family’s food supply was limited by the shortages of a world war. Even in peacetime, they ate what was grown locally and seasonally, rather than food flown in from distant lands. Her nutrition ideas are not new or unique, but she helps us realize our food choices affect the environment as much as the environment affects our diet.
Dr. Goodall recommends buying locally grown, organic foods exclusively. She advocates a meat-free diet. She urges us to waste less. She believes we need to “take back food productions from large corporations.” By doing so, we will be healthier and so will our planet.
Dr. Jane advocates humans avoid
- GMO (genetically modified organism) foods
- meat
- imported food
- bottled water
- fast food
- refined processed carbs
- concentrated and synthetic sweeteners
- commercial oils
Dr. Jane encourages us to
- Take back food production from large corporations
- Waste less.
- Use a filter for drinking water
- Eat organic locally grown food.
- Eat fruits, vegetables, legumes
- Use olive oil, herbs, seasonings
Vote like our planet’s future depends on it-because it does
Dr. Jane Goodall
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (Global Icons Series)
In The Book of Hope, Dr. Jane focuses on her “Four Reasons for Hope”:
- The Resilience of Nature,
- The Amazing Human Intellect,
- The Power of Young People, and
- The Indomitable Human Spirit.
Looking at the headlines―the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval―it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.
In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope.
The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action?
Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.
While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure. (an Amazon affiliate link)
Exploring the HEART of health for people and the planet
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Doctor Aletha
In Memory of Dr. Jane Goodall.
On October 1, 2025 the Jane Goodall Institute announced her death. According to the Washington, D.C.-based institute, Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a U.S. speaking tour.
“Dr. Jane was known around the world for her 65-year study of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. However, in the latter part of her life she expanded her focus and became a global advocate for human rights, animal welfare, species and environmental protection, and many other crucial issues.”
