The Project
Volunteer with the Jane Goodall Institute in Uganda

Uganda is one of only 21 countries in the world that still has a wild chimpanzee population. Uganda’s forests are home to many endemic species, and the increasing human population is continually adding to the pressures on the forests’ resources. By working with schools and instilling a conservation ethic into the youth of Uganda, the project is working towards the long term protection of these precious habitats.

What is Roots & Shoots?

Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute’s international environmental and humanitarian programme. Our mission is to foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs, and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment. All Roots & Shoots members, from pre-K to university, demonstrate their care and concern for living things through service projects in their communities and on a global level.

Roots & Shoots is currently actively running in over 90 countries worldwide, and in most of those countries its primary targets are school children and young adults.

Each Roots & Shoots group is tasked with choosing and implementing three projects per year: one which benefits the community, one which benefits the animals and one which benefits the environment.

Roots creep underground everywhere

And make a firm foundation.

Shoots seem very weak

But to reach the light

They can break open brick walls.

Imagine that the brick walls are all

The problems we have inflicted on our planet.

Hundreds and thousands of roots and shoots,

Hundreds and thousands of young people around the world,

Can break through these walls.

You CAN change the world.

- Dr. Jane Goodall

Roots & Shoots is guided by Dr. Jane’s philosophy that every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, every individual makes a difference. Roots & Shoots members learn the importance of caring for others and at the same time develop self-respect, confidence in themselves and hope for the future. Our members learn that working together to make the world a better place can be fun! From its beginning in Tanzania in 1991, Roots & Shoots has become international in scope, with members in over 60 countries around the world. The flexibility of the programme complements the diversity of our membership by allowing each Roots & Shoots group to plan and implement projects based on its unique interests, resources and community concerns. With thousands of members around the world, Roots & Shoots truly is a global programme, uniting young people in the effort to make the world a better place for all living things.

Roots & Shoots works with students and educators in a programme that fosters awareness of and concern about the environment, its diversity, and the problems facing it. It also aims at developing skills, knowledge, attitudes, motivation and the commitment to environmental issues of our youth. Roots & Shoots members are empowered to work individually and collectively towards solving existing environmental and social problems and preventing future difficulties.

What is the Kalinzu Education Programme?

The Kalinzu Environmental Education Programme was started at the beginning of 2004. Workshops were carried out to train the staff to deliver an environmental education programme and improvements were made to the education centre that had been built a year earlier. These included adding interpretation materials, teaching aids and furnishings (cupboards and cushions). Other improvements were also made to the site, including landscaping, picnic tables and the painting of a mural on the outside of the building.

The Kalinzu Environmental Education Programme currently brings groups of 12 students twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The students participate in a half-day programme. They are taken to the forest for a one hour forest walk, where they are encouraged to ask questions and take a closer look at the world around them. The rest of the time is spent in and around the education centre, where they do activities to learn more about the forest and the threats to it. A total of 20 schools participate in this field visit programme, and half of these are also involved in the Roots & Shoots programme, which gives us an opportunity to build on what they learnt at the centre.

What is the Budongo Education Programme?

The Budongo Environmental Education Programme was started mid-2006. A workshop was carried out to train the staff to deliver an environmental education programme and improvements were made to the original National Forestry Authority (NFA) education centre that had been built some years earlier. These included adding interpretation materials, teaching aids and furnishings (cupboards and cushions). Other improvements were also made to the site, including landscaping, picnic tables and the painting of a mural on the inside of the building.

The Budongo Environmental Education Programme started bringing groups of students to the centre in July 2006. The students participate in a half-day programme. They are taken to the forest for a one hour forest walk, where they are encouraged to ask questions and take a closer look at the world around them. The rest of the time is spent in and around the education centre, where they do activities to learn more about the forest and the threats to it. A total of 11 schools will participate in this field visit programme and some of these are also involved in the Roots & Shoots programme, which gives us an opportunity to build on what they learnt at the centre.