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On a cold Dunedin evening in June, the Centre for Science Communication hosted acclaimed British ethnologist and UN Messenger of Peace Dr. Jane Goodall at the Regent Theatre during her 2014 tour. Dr. Goodall is perhaps best known for her work on social and family interactions of chimpanzees in Tanzania, of which she regaled the audience with many stories. However, Dr. Goodall is also an animal advocate and conservationist, who has worked tirelessly on a number of conservation and animal welfare issues. Only recently she called for the Vancouver Aquarium to phase out its captive whale and dolphin population, and along with other celebrities, urged U.S. President Barack Obama to help end illegal ivory trading.

One might have expected, therefore, that Dr. Goodall would talk about the many issues of animal welfare she has dealt with over the years. However, her talk instead focused mostly on one particular animal: homo sapien. More specifically, her talk looked at the capacity for humans to create change in the environment, for good and for bad. It was a message that was neither positive nor negative, merely a reminder that the choices we make have consequences to the world around us and it is therefore important that we strive to do what is best for the planet we call home. For every tale of deforestation, climate change, or ocean acidification caused by human activity, Dr. Goodall reminded the audience of the ability of humans to bring about positive changes through their actions. One such local example given during her talk was that of the Chatham Islands black robin, which in 1980 had been limited to only five birds, with just a single breeding pair. Through the resolute efforts of New Zealand conservationist Don Merton and his Wildlife Service team, the black robin has since then been brought back from the brink of extinction to a population of around 250.

Even positive actions seemingly unrelated to the idea of conservation can help protect our environment. Dr. Goodall spoke of her time in Africa, noting that sometimes in order to protect the habitats of the chimpanzees from being lost through deforestation, and to avoid the poaching of chimpanzees for food, often all that was needed was to address the root cause of the issue, namely the social poverty which affected the locals. By helping to alleviate this poverty through education, something which many would see as a purely social action, it reduced the need for those people to cut down the forests and to go poaching, thus indirectly helping to preserve the chimpanzees.

Ultimately, Dr. Goodall surmised that every single person makes decisions every day that have an effect on the world we live in, yet, in spite of how intelligent we are, we are destroying our only home. It is therefore never too late to start making a difference for the better. So whether you volunteer at an animal shelter, choose to go vegan, advocate for conservation or social efforts, or simply make ethical decisions when shopping, every positive step is a step towards a future that is environmentally sustainable.