Built by Gersh Povloltskyi and his classmates in the Czech Republic, the Bench of Hope was created to honour Dr. Jane Goodall and the impact she has had on people, animals and the environment. Made from recycled plastic, it was funded entirely by the students themselves, through handmade items sold at school events, as well as fundraisers like Presentation Night, a Read-a-thon, and a Poetry Café. It carries a golden plaque reading “Jane Goodall’s Bench of Hope,” with a small library of her books placed alongside it.
Anyone who sits there — a teacher, a visitor, or a third grade student — is invited to think about Dr. Jane Goodall and about the changes they can make in their own life.
In North Kivu, eight Roots & Shoots clubs brought together 369 young people who identified forest degradation as their biggest challenge, and got to work. Equipped with GPS devices and mobile phones running Survey123, they mapped the areas most affected by deforestation — the first time students in the region had done this kind of work themselves. Within a month, school nurseries had produced more than 3,000 tree seedlings for restoration.
At a feedback session, one girl described how she had convinced her father, an artisanal woodcutter, to set aside a family plot for natural regeneration: “I want my children to still be able to see chimpanzees and big trees.” Neighbouring schools have since adopted the same approach.
Zoppo and Zaz were two Northern Bald Ibises, symbols of Waldrappteam, a major European conservation project working to bring the species back after centuries of extinction in Europe. Thanks to EU-funded LIFE projects, with support from the Jane Goodall Institute, young birds like Zaz are guided along safe migration routes by experienced pioneers like Zoppo, so future generations can learn to migrate on their own.
In October 2025, shortly after crossing the Alps into Italy, Zoppo and Zaz lost their lives near Dubino, in Valtellina. When primary school children from Val Chiavenna learned what had happened, they responded the way children often do best: with drawings and handwritten messages, which they turned into small cards and shared with the project’s nature guides and the Jane Goodall Institute Italy.
If you feel motivated by these stories, you can be part of this global movement.
Find your local Roots & Shoots office and take action today—by joining a group or starting your own. Together, we can build a more compassionate and sustainable world.
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