First Ever Jane Goodall Day Announced Worldwide
March 23, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FIRST-EVER JANE GOODALL DAY ANNOUNCED WORLDWIDE
The Jane Goodall Institute invites people to celebrate icon Dr. Jane Goodall on April 3rd and keep her legacy alive through local action
(March 23, 2026 – Washington, D.C.) — The Jane Goodall Institute’s global network of chapters announced today that they will be honoring Dr. Jane Goodall with Jane Goodall Day this April 3rd, on what would have been her 92nd birthday. This commemorative day will take place annually and will celebrate the global icon in true Jane fashion: by resolutely continuing her mission of inspiring hope and transforming it into action.
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, inspired millions of people throughout her remarkable lifetime. While Jane became a household name for her landmark wild chimpanzee research, she spent her final decades as a lauded conservation advocate who traveled approximately 300 days a year to share her message of hope for our planet. Her compassion and persistence in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss continues to resonate and her enduring influence has only grown since her passing on October 1st, 2025, with a far-reaching outpouring of support from around the globe.
On Jane Goodall Day, individuals of all ages are encouraged to mark the day by taking action locally. This initiative is in keeping with the ethos of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the Jane Goodall Institute’s youth program, which encourages and supports young people as they take on projects that benefit people, other animals, and their shared environment. On Jane Goodall Day, people can honor Jane by making a positive difference: planting a tree, participating in community clean-ups, donating to a cause, choosing plant-based meals, advocating for animal welfare, and sharing what Jane meant to them using #JaneGoodallDay on social media. Participants can take action in a way that matters to them, and these individual actions will inspire others to make their own impact and find hope.
“Dr. Jane Goodall cared so deeply about people, other animals, and our shared environment, and her groundbreaking work continues,” said Anna Rathmann, Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute USA. “Jane Goodall Day is not just a celebration of Jane — it is a reminder that we all have the power to uphold her remarkable legacy, and to work towards a bright future together.”
This worldwide celebration will be carried out by JGI’s 30 global offices and countless Roots & Shoots groups. In the United States, JGI USA is honoring Jane with their first annual giving day. Between now and April 3, 2026, all donations to JGI USA will be doubled thanks to a generous $300,000 match.
Jane’s legacy lives on through the work of the Jane Goodall Institute:
- Wildlife Research: In 1960, Dr. Goodall established the longest running wild chimpanzee study in Gombe National Park, Tanzania which continues to this day. Her discovery that chimpanzees make and use tools changed science and reshaped how humans relate to the animal kingdom.
- Youth Engagement: Jane’s belief in the power of young people lives on through Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots — a global movement that is driving youth-led action in over 75 countries, reaching more than 1.2 million youth in 2023 alone.
- Community-led Conservation: Dr. Jane Goodall pioneered and sustained the Jane Goodall Institute’s community-centered conservation approach, Tacare, across the chimpanzee range for over four decades. This work, which continues through the Jane Goodall Institute, has significantly restored watersheds and forest habitat in villages surrounding Gombe and beyond.
- Animal Welfare: Jane was a tireless animal welfare advocate who championed that all animals are sentient beings, worthy of our compassion. In 1992, she established the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of the Congo to care for chimpanzees rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. It has since grown to be the largest chimpanzee sanctuary in Africa and now rescues and cares for other wildlife species including pangolins, African Gray Parrots, and a young gorilla.
- Conservation Legacy: Dr. Jane’s spirit of compassion lives on through her namesake conservation organization, the Jane Goodall Institute, whose 30 global offices are spearheading Jane Goodall Day.
On April 3, people inspired by Jane can demonstrate once again that her legacy of helping animals, people, and the environment lives on not through memory alone, but through meaningful action.
Available for interview:
- Anna Rathmann, Executive Director, JGI USA
Media contact:
Kara Solarz, Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing, JGI USA
Ksolarz@janegoodall.org
703.682.9243
Press materials:
Approved photos and b-roll can be found in the Jane Goodall Institute press kit.
About Jane Goodall
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and UN Messenger of Peace, was a world-renowned ethologist and conservationist who inspired greater understanding, and action on behalf of the natural world.
On 14th July 1960 Jane arrived on the shores of Gombe in Tanzania to begin what became groundbreaking studies into the lives of wild chimpanzee communities. Her discoveries that chimpanzees make and use tools forever changed our understanding of our relationship to the rest of the animal kingdom. This transformative research continues today through the Jane Goodall Institute as the longest running wild chimpanzee study in the world.
Jane’s work built on scientific innovations, growing a lifetime of advocacy including trailblazing efforts through her international organization of 30 Jane Goodall Institutes which advance community-led conservation, animal welfare, ongoing research and youth empowerment. In 1991 Jane founded Roots & Shoots, an environmental and humanitarian program with 12 high school students in Dar es Salaam. Now Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots empowers young people of all ages to become involved in hands-on projects of their choosing and is active in 75 countries and counting.
Up until her peaceful passing in October 2025 at the age of 91, Jane traveled approximately 300 days each year, inspiring audiences worldwide through speaking tours, media engagements, written publications, and a wide array of film, television and podcast projects. Author of many books for adults and children, her final publication “The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times,” has been translated into more than 20 languages.
About the Jane Goodall Institute
The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global conservation organization founded in 1977 that advances Dr. Jane Goodall’s legacy in 30 offices around the world. The Jane Goodall Institute continues Jane’s vision of inspiring hope and transforming it into action through science driven, technology enabled programs focused on wildlife research and rehabilitation, community-led conservation, and youth engagement. Through the youth program Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, now active in 75 countries around the world and counting, JGI is creating a movement of compassionate people who uphold its mission to create a better world for people, other animals, and our shared environment.
Learn more at janegoodall.org and rootsandshoots.org. Follow @JaneGoodallInst and @RootsAndShoots.
##
