A world without hope is simply not an option.  That was world-renowned primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall’s message which drew thunderous applause from a completely packed Elsinore Theater on Thursday night where Goodall, 91, shared her life story, and her four reasons for staying hopeful in what she called “dark times.”  Goodall’s visit to the Elsinore completely sold out minutes after tickets went up for sale, and over a thousand people, young and old, came out for inspiration from the trailblazing primatologist who changed modern science’s understanding of both humanity and the natural world.  “If we don’t have hope we fall into apathy. And if we fall into apathy, what about the future of our children? How can we possibly move forward without hope, and continue to bring innocent children into the world? We must have hope,” Goodall told the audience on Thursday. Goodall’s life story started when she was a curious little girl digging up earthworms in England, then her first journey to the African continent as a young woman. Goodall would eventually spend an initial six months in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania living among and studying chimpanzees which led to her groundbreaking discoveries and later her illustrious career as a scientist.  Those discoveries included the fact that chimpanzees utilize tools, exhibit intelligence and a spectrum of emotions. Goodall also observed that chimpanzees are both capable of engaging in a kind of primitive warfare, and are capable of showing incredible compassion and kindness.  She would go on to found the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, and devote her life’s work to conservation.  World-famous conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall presents a lecture at the Elsinore Theater on April 10, 2025. (Eric Guzzetta/Jane Goodall Institute) After Goodall’s talk, the audience enjoyed live music from Washington state-based folk musician Dana Lyons. Goodall then took a seat on the stage for an intimate fireside chat where she shared a bit of her wisdom and answered questions from the audience.  “We are going through very dark times, right? I mean politically, socially, and environmentally. I lived through World War II. It was pretty grim then,” Goodall said. “I’ve lived 90 years and seen problems come and go, but what we are going through now, particularly in the U.S. that’s affecting the whole world, is grim.”  Goodall said people ask her all the time how she stays hopeful in a world like today’s.  She brought up her four reasons for staying hopeful which is the subject of one of her books, “The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times.”  Those four things include the resilience of nature which she illustrated by telling how she was dismayed to see the hills around Gombe National Park were bare when she flew over them in the 1980s. Today, those hills have been reclaimed by nature, Goodall said.  “Once nature is given a chance with time and maybe some help, nature will return. And seeds that have lain under the ground dormant for years and years and years will once again start springing to life and animals on the brink of extinction can be and are being given another chance,” she said.  Goodall also said the human intellect gives her hope in the sense that humanity has done more than any other animal on the planet. However, she said while humanity is the most intellectual creature to ever walk the Earth, we aren’t necessarily the smartest.  “I don’t say intelligent, Because if we were intelligent, we would not be destroying our only home,” Goodall said. “We seem to have lost the wisdom of the Indigenous.”  She also said the energy and passion of young people to change the world for the better, and the indomitable human spirit are other reasons that keep her hopeful.  “These four reasons are why I know that we will succeed in defeating climate change, the swing to the far-right. Everything that is wrong with the world today. Because we can,” Goodall said.  Goodall also took prepared questions from the audience at the end of her time. One question was about the resiliency of nature, which prompted her to tell a story about a tree that survived the collapse of the twin towers on September 11, 2001. The tree, a Callery pear tree, she said, was nurtured back to life after it was dug up from the rubble. She recalled seeing the tree, known as the Survivor Tree, in full bloom where it now grows at the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City.    “What I especially loved is that when the leaves and blossoms faded, you could see a bird had made its nest,” Goodall said, “The bird in this tree that was revived from the end of everything was now producing new life.”  Another person asked Goodall if a particular question has stood out to her over the years of giving talks around the world. She recalled being asked by a woman in Canada about eight years ago what her next big adventure was going to be. Ten years ago, she told the woman, she would have gone to the wild parts of Papua New Guinea to search for new species, but she acknowledged she can’t climb mountains like she used to.  “My next great adventure is going to be dying,” she recalled telling the audience in Canada, which drew silence and a few titters.  “When you die there’s either nothing … or there’s something. And things that have happened in my life have made me feel 100% certain that when we die it’s not the end,” Goodall said. “But I don’t know what that is. So, I can’t think of a greater adventure than finding out what that is.”  She urged the audience to remain hopeful despite crises around the world, including the crisis in Gaza, which she said keeps her awake at night.  She said watching a news segment showing a Palestinian man cradling his dead child with silent tears streaming down his face summed up the entire situation for her.  “What is happening in some parts of the world is evil, and we shouldn’t be supporting it, and we should make our voices heard,” Goodall said.  Goodall said her most important message of all was that every human born onto the planet has a role to play.  “Some people never find that role, but I truly believe that we are here for a reason, and finding out that reason is really really important,” Goodall said, “And to remember that every single day every one of us lives, we make an impact on the planet. And we are lucky. Everybody here. We can choose the kind of impact we can make.” Contact reporter Joe Siess: joe@salemreporter.com or 503-335-7790. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE – If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post World-famous conservationist Jane Goodall brings hope to Salem  appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less