CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: “Conservation is…Art,” a biodiversity-themed art showcase featuring photography, paintings, pottery, and other visual arts. For submission guidelines, a full schedule of events or to get involved, please visit www.PrimatePalooza.com!

Here’s my travel plan:

I will then meet up with my aunt, Jennifer, to travel to Zanzibar for one week and then Arusha for one week. During this time we will be connecting with several Roots & Shoots and LEAF International groups.

I will then join my parents and brother for a two week safari. We will begin in Virunga National Park where we will search for the highly endangered mountain gorilla. We will then continue on to witness the great migration of wildebeest and zebra in the Masai Mara and Serengeti.

This will certainly be an incredible experience and I look forward to sharing it with you. Please stay tuned for photographs and stories live from the field!

Dr. Goodall will be doing numerous interviews related to the release of Hope for Animals and Their World, including “Good Morning America” (September 4), “Bill Moyer’s Journal” (September 4), “The Diane Rehm Show” (September 9) and “Imus in the Morning” (September 21), among others, so be sure to tune in!

Buy here!

These exceptional youth received a special honor this year — the opportunity to celebrate Dr. Jane’s 75th birthday at a private party together with Jane.

Roots & Shoots hosts the annual National Youth Leadership Retreat to build key skills and leadership capacity among members of the Youth Leadership Councils.
“I can honestly say that this trip was the greatest experience of my life!,” said Miranda M., first year California Youth Leadership Council member.

“I learned how to start more Roots & Shoots groups, speak in public, advocate for issues and give interviews. When I met Dr. Jane it made me feel that I could do anything that I set my mind to.”

Retreat attendees represented all five Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Councils; California (CAYLC), Four Corners (FCYLC), Great Lakes (GLYLC), New England (NEYLC), National (NYLC) and College (CLC). Taking inspiration from Dr. Jane’s work around the world, these teens and 20-somethings did not let geography get in the way of collaboration.
Shanay Healy, Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Fellow and member of the NYLC said, “We all really bonded this weekend. I have a million new ideas and 40 new friends from around the country who have inspired me to keep working to make a difference!”

Do you know a young leader with a desire to make a difference? Find out how to get involved with the Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Councils.

The Biltmore Company received the Triple Bottom Line Award for its initiative demonstrating the successful integration of all three aspects of sustainability – social, environmental and economic. My Dad, Biltmore’s Executive Vice President, and I accepted the award on behalf of Biltmore.

Sustainable North Carolina Sustainable North Carolina (SNC) is a non-profit organization that works as a catalyst for a sustainable economy through professional education, networking, implementation assistance and recognition. SNC is spearheading the NC Sustainable Business Council (NCSBC) to provide business leadership for an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable future.

To see all of the winners, click here.

A Roots & Shoots Member interacting with fellow Roots & Shoots members on one of my trips to Tanzania.

Nature photography has always been my way to capture and reveal the wonders of the woods right in my backyard. Having a camera in my hand has motivated me to get outside and has given me a purpose to explore my curiosities about the natural world. Since I can remember, I have enjoyed being outside and have had a passion for helping wildlife and wild places in my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.

The self-taught photography skills I picked up as a kid provided me the opportunity to work along side one of my heroes—Jane Goodall—a famous scientist who studied chimpanzees in Tanzania. At age nineteen, my job was traveling around the world in order to engage young people in helping others, as well as animals and the environment—and capture photographs along the way.

My travels took me from the savannahs of Tanzania to the jungles of the Peruvian Amazon to the Antarctic continent. Although I have been fortunate to travel to theses amazing places, my favorite place in the world to take pictures is my own backyard! As I grew into a passionate conservationist, it became my greatest hope that my images of nature would serve as a “visual voice” that would inspire people of all ages to take compassionate action.

My talent for photography and interest in exploring nature lead me to helping other people my age and younger get excited about learning how to protect our amazing planet. This is why I helped launch a new online magazine called Nature’s Best Photography for Students, which provides young people (ages 12-25) with an outstanding platform to share our stories about how we care about wildlife and nature in our own communities and around the world. Once you have your own story captured on film, I hope you will share it with us- and you may even get published!

As a Roots & Shoots youth leader, I initiated and led a R&S fundraising campaign, which collected over $50,000 for a new dormitory at the Institute’s Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in Congo-Brazzaville. The sanctuary — Africa’s largest ape sanctuary — cares for young chimpanzees orphaned as a result of the illegal commercial bushmeat trade.

During a “gap year” between high school and college, I served as the first Youth Leadership Fellow in JGI’s national headquarters in Arlington, VA where I worked with other young leaders to implement projects and campaigns to benefit people, animals and the environment. This program is truly changing lives, one person, one creature and one place at a time. Get involved at www.rootsandshoots.org.