REDLANDS, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 21, 2016 — Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and United Nations Messenger of Peace, will be celebrating Earth Day with Esri and the University of Redlands on Friday, April 22. Goodall will discuss the Jane Goodall Institute, which has broadly applied Esri technology to support conservation and animal welfare issues globally through its Roots & Shoots program and its community-centered conservation work in Africa. Friday evening, Goodall will join students from local Roots & Shoots chapters to plant a tree in the Sustainable University of Redlands Farm (SURF). On Saturday, Goodall will receive an honorary degree and deliver the keynote address at the University of Redlands.

The Roots & Shoots program has inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the globe to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment. Students who are passionate about protecting the environment are the heartbeat of the program. An interactive Esri Story Map app, Tapestry of Hope, was launched last year to provide a snapshot into these future conservation leaders’ projects and to help connect their work with others.

“The map is a critical tool to document, manage, visualize and share the actions and impacts of Roots & Shoots projects,” said Anna Gibson, Jane Goodall Institute, vice president. “Our community grows with each new Roots & Shoots project that is created by the young people who are pioneering this effort around the world.”

This visit will be a welcome return for Dr. Goodall, who joined in the university’s Roots & Shoots program, and received Esri’s Global Leadership Award in 2011.

“The university is honored to work with Esri and bring such an honored guest to our community,” said Shelli Stockton, University of Redlands director for alumni and community relations. “We are excited to continue our work together and celebrate Earth Day in such a significant manner.”

As one of the most inspirational and influential conservation scientists in the world, Goodall performed groundbreaking work as a primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist that has changed the course of people’s understanding of our place in the world. Founded in 1977, JGI continues Goodall’s pioneering research on chimpanzee behavior, is a global leader in establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and is the originator of the Roots & Shoots program, which has groups in more than 120 countries.

“The Jane Goodall Institute and University of Redlands organizations are important to Esri,” said Jack Dangermond, president and founder of Esri. “It is heartwarming to celebrate this day together and see conservationism in action through tomorrow’s leaders using geodesign and community mapping.”

Learn more about how Esri helps create a sustainable world.

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