Renowned conservationist Jane Goodall wins Templeton Prize

“Some people seem to believe that we can live separated from nature, but we can’t,” Goodall said.

“We’re animals, too, you know, by definition. … We just happen to have (less) hair and have had an explosive development of our intellect. But we seem to fail when it comes to wisdom — the wisdom that says, ‘The decision I make now, how will that affect future generations or the health of the planet?’”

In recent decades, Goodall has averaged more than 300 days of travel each year, educating audiences worldwide about nature, conservation and the potential for collective action to bring about change. The coronavirus pandemic halted those travels, she has continued to have a strong influence through virtual participation in events and lectures involving thousands of people in scores of countries.

She launched a podcast from her childhood home in England and, at age 87, is reaching millions of people through social media.

Raised as a Christian, Goodall said she developed her own sense of spirituality in the forests of Tanzania — in essence, believing that all living things and the natural world are connected through a divine force.

She recalled her mother saying to her, when she was a girl, “You will be brought up in a Christian family, so you worship God. But you might have been born in Egypt and then you would worship Allah, or you might have been born in a Buddhist country or one with a Hindu religion.”