REASONS FOR HOPE

Jane Goodall’s ‘Reasons for Hope’

Last week Katherine Versteegen and I took the 7I and 8EAL classes to see a documentary at IMAX called ‘Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope’. 

It was an inspirational documentary about some of the environmental protection projects that are going on around the world as part of her ‘Roots and Shoots’ organisation. In this documentary we heard about the regeneration of a mining town called Sudbury, the reintroduction of the American Bison to areas where it has become almost extinct, renewable energy projects and the reintroduction of the Northern Bald Ibis to Europe. Jane Goodall also spoke about the hope she has in the youth of today and their passion to fix problems when they are made aware of them. 

I posed the question to students: ‘Which of the four stories most impacted you and why?’. 

Here are some of their responses:

The story that impacted me the most was the story from Sudbury and how resilient nature was, this impacted me because it gives me hope that nature can bounce back and survive. (Henry G)

I liked the American bison because it was an animal coming all the way from some unknown place back to its home place. I also liked it because it allowed the Black Feet Nation to start their tribal traditions with the bison again. (Alex)

The story about the Loon bird from Sudbury was the story that motivated me to make a change the most. The way that they all came together to make the place they live in a better place. They felt bad about ruining the animal habitat due to the giant mining reservoir they live.  The passion to make the environment a better place is an inspiration to all. (Sophie)

The Ibis story. The whole story was inspirational for me. How they raised the Ibises since they were newborn and how they always wore yellow so they would follow them around. It was incredible how they managed to fly the birds over the alps successfully and I really enjoyed that story. (Gab)

The story of the Ibis impacted me most because it showcased how hard people work to help save endangered animals. (Aaria)

The story that impacted me the most was the first one about the Loon birds in Sudbury. This is because it made me realise how much our actions can affect nature, both in positive and negative ways. (Henry R)

The story of the ibis because I think it is incredible to get a relationship so strong that the birds follow you through the air and trust you on what you are doing. (Teo)

The story that impacted me the most was the loon bird Sudbury story because it was showing that although damage was done to the Earth, it is never too late to change the world and make it a better place for everyone. (Taya)