Jane Goodall Celebrates, Honors Stewards of the Environment

Portrait of Jane Goodall, auction item.

The green carpet--made of sustainable and fully recyclable modular carpet tiles-- said it all: Friday night's event was about respecting the environment and all its creatures.

The occasion? The third annual Jane Goodall Institute Global Leadership Awards Celebration. Each year, the celebration honors individuals and corporations who exemplify the Goodall creed by taking informed action on behalf of all living things.

No surprise then, that Ed Begley, Jr., who wrote for Hopenhagen this week and is known to appear at Hollywood events by bicycle, received the award for Responsible Activism in Media and Entertainment. Other awards included:

• The Honorable Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles, for Excellence in Public Policy
• Theo Chocolate for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility
• John Zavalney for Excellence in Education
• Erica Fernandez of California and Shadrach Meshach of Tanzania for Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership
• Dr. Virginia Landau for Lifetime Dedication to the Conservation and Care of Chimpanzees
• Betty White for Lifetime Achievement

Jane Goodall with Ed Begley, Jr. and wife Rachelle Carson

Founded in 1977 and modeled after Goodall's own inquisitive and impassioned activism on behalf of chimps, the Jane Goodall Institute conducts pioneering research on chimpanzee behavior and is an international leader in protecting chimpanzees and their habitats.

The event also served as a fundraiser for the Jane Goodall Institute, and a silent auction took place before Goodall's speech. Many of the items were simian in nature--photos of apes, like Sheri Mandeo's "The King of Sabinyo,"  and even paintings by apes.  Mandeo's photo, taken in Rwanda, was of a mountain gorilla. Mountain gorillas are critically endangered, and only about 700 individual mountain gorillas survive in the wild. This year, the UN declared 2009 the Year of the Gorilla to raise awareness and protect gorillas from extinction. Goodall, known for her lifelong dedication and care for the animals' well being, is the official patron of the 2009 Year of the Gorilla.

I spoke with several employees of the Los Angeles Zoo who, appropriately, contributed chimp paintings for the silent auction. The tempura paintings were originals, done by two ten-year-old chimpanzees named Jean and Zoey. Tami Goodman, who works with orangutans, gorillas, and chimps, said painting is considered a form of behavioral enrichment for the animals, though she added, "This is all on their agenda.  If we say, 'okay, we're going to paint,' that doesn't mean they're going to paint."

Betty White and Jane Goodall share a moment on the green carpet

One of the zoo employees also shared a story about Betty White, describing a moment when White had visited a group of chimps: "They came running over right away, and Betty said to me, 'These are my favorite people in the entire world.'" White is the first person to receive the Lifetime Achievement award, which honors an individual who has dedicated his or her life to the improving the world and impacted those who share our planet.

For more information about the Jane Goodall Institute, go here.