A legacy of compassion, humility, and courage
By Clayton “Tiger” Hulin, R.N.
On October 1, 2025, the world lost a titan. Dr. Jane Goodall, scientist, advocate, teacher, and warrior of the earth, passed away at the age of 91 while on a speaking tour in California. Even in her final days she was still doing what she had always done: giving her voice to those who had none, urging humanity to live with compassion, humility, and courage.
Goodall was never just a primatologist. She was a pioneer who walked into the Tanzanian forests with a notebook, binoculars, and an unshakable patience, and she returned having rewritten what it means to be human. With careful eyes and an open heart, she revealed to the world that chimpanzees are not primitive creatures, but toolmakers, community-builders, and individuals with rich personalities and emotions.
She was also a pioneer for women. At a time when scientific fields were still dominated by men, she shattered expectations. She proved that women could not only contribute but lead, transforming the way the world understands animals and, in turn, ourselves. Even though I am a man, I have spent my life in nursing, working side by side with women who hold entire systems together with skill and grace. I recognize the strength it takes to step forward when the room is against you. Jane Goodall carried that strength into the wilds of Africa and into every stage she ever walked. She did it without apology, and the world is better for it.
Her discoveries forced science and society to reckon with a new truth: we are not so separate from the rest of life as we once believed. But her work did not stop at observation. Goodall became a tireless advocate for the planet. From the jungles of Gombe to crowded auditoriums across the globe, she spoke of urgency but also of hope. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute, launched the Roots & Shoots program to empower youth worldwide, and inspired generations to care for the natural world.
She traveled constantly, carrying her message like a prophet with mud on her boots. She never slowed down, and she never softened her call. Every choice mattered. Every small act of kindness mattered. Every woman, man, and child had the power to make a difference.
She was, in every sense, a titan. Not the kind who stood above us, but the kind who stood with us. She made the wild feel closer, and our duty to protect it impossible to ignore. And if you will forgive me, for women especially, she showed that leadership in science, conservation, and advocacy was not something to be granted but something to be claimed.
As the world mourns her passing, her legacy roars louder than grief. In the rustle of leaves where chimps still forage, in the small hands of children planting trees through Roots & Shoots, in the countless lives she touched with her conviction that every individual makes a difference.
Jane Goodall is gone, but the movement she ignited lives on. To honor her is not just to remember her, but to act, to choose compassion over indifference, and to protect this fragile earth she so fiercely loved.
Rest well, Jane. The forests remember you. So do we.
