Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape, genocide, child soldiers, abuse, and animal abuse.

Jane talks about how she began to work with young people. When she started traveling around talking about her work, she met disillusioned young people who felt—rightly, she thought—that their future was stolen by previous generations’ disregard for the planet. Jane wanted to help them understand that there is something they can do, if people act within a certain window of time.

She started Roots and Shoots with 12 local Tanzanian children who came to her with concerns about their local communities and environments. With her help, they set up groups, who each made three projects—to benefit people, animals, and environment. They were mocked at first but the grassroots movement spread. Roots and Shoots became a global movement active in 86 countries. 

Jane thinks all children can be motivated and passionate about environmental activism. Especially in impoverished communities, Jane finds that encouraging disadvantaged children to exercise the power of their voice and telling them that their opinion matters has been effective.

Love in a Hopeless Place

Jane tells a story about an encounter with a man named Robert White Mountain in 2005, after she spoke in New York.