World-renowned environmentalist, Dr Jane Goodall, recently visited Shanghai to speak to and inspire students in the community. Several students from YCIS Shanghai attended Dr Goodall’s address, and below are the reflections of two of the students from YCIS’s Regency Park Campus:

Annie-Ming, Year 6: “Inspiration is the word that comes to mind when I reflect on our meeting with Dr Jane Goodall. She had many goals in life, and has always worked very hard towards her goals. When she was young, she wanted to study chimpanzees, so she saved up her money for a boat ticket to Africa to be close to chimpanzees’ habitat. After spending nearly 20 years on chimpanzee research, she became the world-renowned expert. Now, at the age of 80, even after she made a difference to this world, she still works tirelessly to educate young people around her, so hundreds of thousands of us can push through, like plant shoots pushing through brick walls to get sunlight, the walls of problems humans have inflicted on the planet. ‘We CAN change the world’ is the message loud and clear from Dr Goodall.”

Angela, Year 6: “I was very lucky to have the chance to see Dr Jane Goodall. I can't believe I saw her in person -- I have always dreamed of meeting her! She spoke to us about her interest in nature and how close she was to the chimpanzees. She also talked about how we can make the world a better and greener place. This year, Dr Goodall turned 80 years old, and she still helps the world in a lot of different ways.”

Dr Goodall’s speech was not her first encounter with YCIS. In fact, YCIS Shanghai is one of only a few schools to receive the Green Star Award, which is acknowledgement of the environmental efforts students and staff have made to support Dr Jane Goodall’s organisation, Roots & Shoots.

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