Dr. Jane Goodall is Grand Marshall for 2013 Rose Parade

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses® revealed today that Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2013 Tournament of Roses festivities. On New Year’s Day, in front of a world television audience, Dr. Goodall will ride in the 124th Rose Parade® presented by Honda and themed “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!.” She will then toss the coin before the 99th Rose Bowl Game® presented by VIZIO. Dr. Goodall has been an inspiration to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses as the organization continues to seek ways to make the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game more sustainable by finding ways to evolve waste-management practices and inspire that change in those who participate in Tournament of Roses events.

At the age of 26, Jane Goodall traveled from England to what is today Tanzania and bravely entered the little-known world of wild chimpanzees. She was equipped with nothing more than a notebook and a pair of binoculars. But with her unyielding patience and characteristic optimism, she won the trust of these initially shy creatures. She managed to open a window into their sometimes strange and often familiar-seeming lives. Her early findings—that chimpanzees make and use tools, eat meat, and engage in war-like activity—profoundly altered our understanding of what it means to be human.

Today, Dr. Goodall’s work revolves around inspiring action on behalf of endangered species, particularly chimpanzees, and encouraging people to do their part to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment.

The Jane Goodall Institute, which Dr. Goodall founded in 1977, works to protect the wild chimpanzees of Gombe National Park in Tanzania and other parts of Africa, but recognizes this cannot be accomplished without a comprehensive approach that addresses the needs of local people who are critical to chimpanzee survival.

The Institute’s community-centered conservation program in Africa (TACARE) includes sustainable development projects that engage local people as true partners. The program began around Gombe in 1994, but has since been replicated in other parts of the continent.
Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, which Dr. Goodall started with a group of Tanzania students in 1991, is today the Institute’s global environmental and humanitarian youth program for young people from preschool through university with hundreds of thousands of members in more than 120 countries around the world. Members of Roots & Shoots California groups attended the event and escorted Dr. Goodall to the podium.

“I am honored to be the Grand Marshal for the 2013 Tournament of Roses,” said Dr. Jane Goodall. “New Year’s day symbolizes the opportunity to work toward new goals, experience new beginnings, and make a difference. My dream for this New Year’s Day is for everyone to think of the places we can all go if we work together to make our world a better place. Every journey starts with a step and I am pleased to see the Tournament of Roses continue to take steps toward not only celebrating beauty and imagination, but also a cleaner environment.”
At one point Dr. Goodall asked if she should stop speaking when a KTLA newswoman was speaking live as Dr. Goodall was making her presentation. The Channel 5 newswoman apparently was doing a remote live feed to her station when Dr. Goodall noticed the newswoman speaking within earshot of the podium.
For further information about Dr. Jane Goodall and the work of the Jane Goodall Institute, including Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, please visit www.janegoodall.org and www.rootsandshoots.org.

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