What is Roots & Shoots?
Roots & Shoots® engages and inspires youth through community service and service learning. Founded by famous Primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall, this global program emphasizes the principle that knowledge leads to compassion, which inspires action. All Roots & Shoots groups show care and concern in three areas: the human community, animals, and the environment.
Our Mission
To foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs, and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, animals, and the environment.
Our Goals
- To implement positive change through active learning about, caring for, and interacting with the environmen.
- To demonstrate care and concern for all animals.
- To enhance understanding among individuals of different cultures, ethnic groups, religions, socio-economic levels, and nations through our global communications network.
- To help young people develop self-respect, confidence in themselves, and hope for the future.
- To make the youths and children of the present days feel that they have some responsibility towards their community and surrounding environment..
Our History
The Roots & Shoots program began when 16 students gathered with Dr. Goodall on her front porch in Dar e Salaam, Tanzania in 1991. The students were fascinated by animal behavior and concerned about the state of the environment. But their schools didn’t cover these topics. The students wondered if they could further these interests through out-of-school activities. Their conversation ranged from how to help chimpanzees to how their actions might affect their communities. The sixteen returned to their schools with a task: find other interested young people and take action. And so the Roots & Shoots program was born. Since then, Roots & Shoots has spread rapidly. More than 7,500 groups – ranging in size from two to 2,000 – have registered in more than 90 countries.
In Nepal, it was formed in 2003 when six dedicated youths joined their hands with the concept of Dr. Jane Goodall.
Learning Model
“It’s not just a homework assignment; it’s a wonderful program.” – Renee Gunther, director of middle school choice/initiatives, Bronx, NY
Whether you are starting a new group at an elementary, middle or high school, looking for ways to build service learning into your lesson plans or starting an after-school club, the flexible Roots & Shoots ® model can work for you.
Service learning and community service projects are at the heart of Roots & Shoots in schools. We encourage teachers to use our knowledge-compassion-action learning model. Roots & Shoots also fosters connections between students and their communities and young people of different cultural and religious backgrounds.
Knowledge
Knowledge and understanding are the basis of responsible action. The more students know about their communities, the better they can judge what needs to be done. A high level of community knowledge also wins the respect of community members. We encourage groups to survey their communities to develop ideas for service projects and learn about root causes of problems. Here are three tools we offer groups to get started:
Compassion
Care and compassion are the engines of your project. Concern and a desire to make a difference energize students to tackle problems around them. The Roots & Shoots program has created a structure to help students stay involved and a system to reward students for caring.
Action
Action is the result of your students’ learning and planning. At all grade levels, Roots & Shoots school groups take action through projects that show care and concern for people, animals, and the environment. In addition to the R&S Coordinator’s Manual mailed to you upon joining, we offer a variety of online tools and information to help groups at the “Action” stage:
Connection
Roots & Shoots fosters connections in so many ways—among students, families, and between youth and communities, animals, and the environment. Our Roots & Shoots network provides opportunities to connect with other concerned individuals at the local, regional, national and even global level.
