Last week Jane Goodall died at the age of 91 - hers was a name that I hadn't thought about much recently, but as a teenager I was fascinated by her conservation work, and her work was one of the things that made me think about a career in Geography. That absolute love that she had for animals, a love that enabled her to travel widely and make a career out of studying and caring for animals - to the 15 year old me, she was very inspirational.

Over the last few years there has been a real push in schools to make subject specific career links much more explicit - not just to reach the Gatsby Benchmarks, but also to make students see the relevance of our subject - and so important for geography at a time when A-Level numbers have been decreasing. So Jane Goodall is a perfect example of an amazing career in a geography-related field.

Despite no formal scientific training, Jane Goodall became a world-leading expert on chimpanzees - her observations revolutionised understanding of these primates. In 1960, she was the first person to observe a chimpanzee using and making tools, which challenged decades of scientific belief that only humans were intelligent enough to make and use tools. She then went on to show that chimpanzees have strong family bonds, and fight over territory. Her observations called into question years of conventional scientific thinking and shaped the future of evolutionary science.

Jane Goodall wrote up her findings in a PhD, despite not having an undergraduate degree or any prior scientific qualifications. Her amazing discoveries were published in leading journals, and in 1965 she was the cover story of the National Geographic, talking about the emotional and social lives of the primates. However, her work was often dismissed by the male-dominated scientific establishment, who didn't like how informal her methods were, how closely she worked with the animals and how she referred to them as her 'friends'.

In the 1970s she became a wildlife activist, initially focusing on freeing chimpanzees kept in zoos or in captivity for medical research. More recently she appeared as a spokesperson urging action on climate change to stop widespread habitat devastation. She continued to travel the world sharing her conservation messages right up until a week before her death, where she was due to speak at a sold-out lecture.

A statement issued by the Jane Goodall Institute in California said her discoveries "revolutionised science" and that she advocated "for the protection and restoration of our natural world".

Sir David Attenbought, a friend of Dr Goodall's, praised her as a "tireless advocate" of chimpanzees and "a great champion of environmental protection".

Read the full tributes here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/art...

This TEDTalk is definitely worth showing to students as a reminder of why working in conservation is so important...