June Project of the Month (POTM): An Eco-Fair Project Idea Worth Recycling
It is easy to feel hopeful about the fate of our planet if we stop to notice the actions of young people happening all around. Children are the future, and the children of Hutchinson Elementary School are a shining example of environmental stewards. The Hutchinson Elementary Environmental Club in Lakewood, Colorado has been delving into […]
Hilda Tresz Has ‘A Week to Change’ the Lives of Captive Animals
Many of us have likely visited a zoo as a young person or with children, and for most this experience is the first time we encounter many animals from across the world. These establishments range in their care and housing of their residents; while some are not so great, others excel and often give back […]
Recent Science Round Up
You’re in a forest in the Congo Basin of Africa, but where are all the chimps? Did you know that chimpanzees oftentimes will reroute their foraging excursions to avoid contact with humans? These intelligent primates never cease to amaze us at the Jane Goodall Institute, and we’re learning more about them every day. Here’s a […]
Nature Photography Day: Through The Lens We Understand and Care
For some, seeing is believing and a way to connect to experiences. Photos have the exceptional power to do just that. For example, when we read or hear that thousands of hectares of land are logged, the glaciers are melting at record speed, or that chimpanzees are so like human beings, nothing relates those facts […]
Jane & Payne: Two Icons, One Film
Dr. Jane Goodall and Roger Payne have long admired one another. Both have made stunning breakthrough discoveries in the field of wildlife biology, and are passionate conservationists. Dr. Jane is known for her work with chimpanzees, Roger Payne for his work with whales. So what would it be like to pair these two amazing animal […]
Why Aren’t There More Wonder Women in STEM?
The new Wonder Woman movie released last week has sparked (appropriately) an outpouring of excitement and support, outlining and reinforcing how necessary it is to have women represented in media and, perhaps most importantly, portrayed as capable of anything and as successful in any profession (or super-profession). As in the case of Dr. Jane Goodall, not […]
Stop the Show: Lousingo’s Story
Eight years ago, a small box arrived at Tchimpounga. When the caretakers opened the box they found a small creature dressed up in baby clothes. This was in fact no baby, but instead, an infant chimpanzee kept in this box for transport. This frightened little one was found forcibly dressed in trousers and a striped […]
Finding Maurice: Karin Konoval in ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’
Finding Maurice by Karin Konoval In 2010 I was cast as “Maurice” in the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The challenge: how do I portray, with physical and psychological integrity, a mature male orangutan? It was the most unique and strenuous preparation for a role I’ve ever undertaken. I began with every […]
Hope For the Planet on World Environment Day
Hope in Action The power of a single story is immeasurable. When a young 26 year old woman from England traveled to Tanzania to study wild animals and share their stories, she transformed our understanding of our relationship to non-human animals, and what was possible for a woman in science, or in general. The reverberations […]
Exploring Evolution and Spirituality in Chimpanzees and Humans
Last January, I traveled to Tanzania with National Geographic presenter Justin Hall to shoot a segment for Explorer about the spiritual nature of chimpanzees and the blurry line between the emotional capacities of non-human animals and humans. In the pieces’ introduction, author and scientist Barbara King notes that “We see examples of empathy, imagination, and […]
