Marc Bekoff , leader of a Roots&Shoots group and personal friend of Jane, has written in collaboration with the University of Colorado Dever's Children Youth and Environments project a new book about children and animals.

There are drawings and pictures of R&S groups from all over the world...

It also speaks of a variety of R&S projects....Here is R&S Spain with Professor Roots!

And the book includes the Movilízate por la selva campaign! Look at our friends from R&S group Lwiro in the Democratic Republic of Congo where part of the money raised in the campaign goes...

The best thing about the book is that everyone can download it and read it for free HERE.

If you would also like to read more work by Marc Bekoff, he also wrote a book with Jane Goodall: The Ten Trusts.

A Warm Welcome to R&S Heri Kwetu

From Bukavu, located in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, comes news from the R&S group of Heri Kwetu.

Heri Kwetu is a center that takes in and offers education to handicap children and youth. It was created by Teresa Sáez more than 30 years ago in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the capital Kivu Sur. Teresa, from Spain and part of the religious order Compañía de María, started this center to offer an opportunity to those who are the most in need and marginalizaed. Today Heri Kwetu is still open and continues to grow.

In July 2010 after learning about the work of the R&S group Lwiro (created by Laia Dotras of the Jane Goodall Institute Spain) Teresa proposed the idea of starting a R&S group to the boys and girls of Heri Kwetu. Over the summer the group met a number of times to see what were the environmental needs and problems in their area. 

They decided that something had to be done about the extensive erosion on the hillsides of their neighborhood. Trees had been cut to make room for houses made of mud and metal. The group started out by informing neighbors and involving neighborhood representatives by letting them know the activities they planned to develop. The R&S group Heri Kwetu got to work on the poorly eroded area, cleaning it up and preparing it for a nursery for trees. Moreover, instead of using plastic bags to contain the seedlings, they used bags made of dried banana leaves. Today the group is taking care of the small trees and, when they’re large enough, the trees will be transplanted and their roots will help retain the soil.

At the moment the Roots&Shoots group at Heri Kwetu has 25 girls and 34 boys as members. They get together on Sundays and review their projects and other proposals that they can do to improve their surroundings. Worried by the large amount of plastic bags that are thrown into the streets, the group has started a campaign asking neighbors to give their bags to the R&S group instead of throwing them away into the streets. R&S Heri Kwetu then cuts up the plastic bags into strips to crochet them into beautiful bags which are longer lasting y more useful than the ones that invade the streets of Kadutu. This way they keep the neighborhood clean and give a new use to a once polluting object.

R&S Heri Kwetu hopes to meet with R&S Lwiro to exchange ideas and experiences and bring together their energy to make their communities a better place to live. Both have received material and support from Roots&Shoots groups in Spain and the Jane Goodall Institute. These groups are a great example of effort, commitment and passion, working in their area with few resources but an enormous desire to make the world a better place.

Welcome!

Congratulations R&S Madrid!

Jane Goodall distinguishes Spain’s most active R&S Group of the year.

Jane, in her last visit to Spain in November, saved a special moment during her speech at the National Library (Madrid, Spain) to present an award for extraordinary work in a number of activities to the group Roots&Shoots Madrid.

The volunteer group of R&S Madrid, led and coordinated by Marisa Mariñán and Diego Rivera, has more than 20 members from an array of different backgrounds including environmental sciences, biology and psychology.

Three years ago they formed their group to promote Dr. Goodall’s philosophy through workshops and presentations in different institutions such as schools, hospitals and universities. Along with the many other activities this group organizes to support the Jane Goodall Institute Spain, R&S Madrid has become our most active group in Spain.

The energy of all the group’s members and the unbeatable motivation of Marisa and Diego are a fine example to many of the other volunteers at the IJGE. At the moment this group is working with the program BioDiverCiudad and the cell phone recycling program Movilízate por la selva in addition to holding monthly activities for hospitalized students.

The entire team of R&S Spain and all the R&S Groups in Spain join Jane in this special recognition…

Congratulations!

Want to learn more about the R&S Madrid group?

Visit their blog:

rootsandshootsmadrid.blogspot.com

R&S Group “Movilízate por la Selva”

It is an honor for our R&S Group to be one of the first to participate in the Roots and Shoots Spain blog y we would like to take the opportunity to wish the blog and all the followers the best of luck!

Distributed among Barcelona, Madrid, Álava, Cantabria and A Coruña, we are currently a group of members (all volunteers). We are working to beat the successful results of the 2010 campaign from the IJGE “Movilízate por la selva” (that’s where we got our name) with a the help of a computer, an Internet connection and lots of enthusiasm.

We handle the design aspects of the promotional material, update the web page, translate texts, maintain contact with donors, thank participates through the Chimpamigos program, etc. And you too can help us in many different ways exceed the 6,500 cell phones that were collected for recycling in 2010. You can simply send us an e-mail and we’d be happy to help you find the best way to participate that fits into your own schedule and interests.

The funds received, thanks to the recycling of these cell phones, is destined to support projects for the development of communities in the Congo area, educational programs and conservation in the Republic of Congo (for example the Chimpanzee Rescue Center Tchimpounga.

Visit our web page to learn more about the campaign (www.movilizateporlaselva.org) or contact us directly (info@movilizateporlaselva.org).

Help us make a difference!

HAPPY 2011! International Year of Forests

Did you know that forests are home to 80% of the biodiversity found on land?

And that 1.6 billion people earn their livelihoods from forests?

Foto por Manuel Mata Oliver

www.manumafotografía.es

This is why the United Nations has declared this year the International Year of Forests and they hope to raise awareness of the conservation and sustainable management and development of the “lungs” of our magnificent planet.

Everyone here at Jane Goodall's Roots&Shoots Spain knows that the key to protecting animals (like the chimpanzees ;-) is in protecting their habitats. So here are some ideas so you can be a part of forest conservation around the world:

• Use notebooks made of recycled paper and write on both sides of the paper before putting it into the recycling bin.
• Search for eco-labels from sustainably managed forests when buying furniture, paper or wood.
• Try being a vegetarian at least one day a week. According to the UN the meat industry is one of the leading causes of forest destruction and loss of biodiversity in the world.
• Visit a forest. Experience biodiversity and breath in the fresh air of you closest ecosystem.
• Share with your community just how important forests are. You can set up a recycling campaign, book exchange, organize a guided visit to your closest forest and MUCH MORE!

Have ideas for activities to protect and preserve forests?

Has your R&S Group done something in the past to help protect Gombe or other forests?

Share it with us! We want to know more!

R&S Groups from around the globe help Tchimpounga

Perhaps you've heard of Tchimpounga, a chimpanzee rehabilitation center in the Republic of Congo in western Africa. Or maybe you've heard of the program Chimpamigos where you can adopt one of the adorable baby chimps they take care of there like this one:

Almost 150 chimpanzees live at Tchimpounga, many of them arrived as babies after being confiscated from hunters, traffickers or people that held them as pets. Here's a video from Tchimpounga TV:

But the big news is that many R&S groups have used their talent, creativity and energy to raise more than 40,000€. Here are only a few of the examples of the events and activities that have been held to raise funds for Tchimpounga....

Two R&S members sold vegetables and flowers from their own garden at a local farmers' market.

One school group held a storytelling event at the local public library where they read books about animals and played games with younger children.

Another couple of R&S members set-up a pet show at their neighborhood park where pets competed for prizes in many different categories.

So much creativity!

So much energy!

And all for a good cause.

If you want to share your ideas, experiences or activities that your R&S group is doing, HERE'S YOUR PLACE!

We're joining the blogosphere!

We're here for everyone!...For those of you who have already formed your own Roots & Shoots groups and for those of you who want to learn more about this enormous network of young people dedicated to being part of a better world.

Giant Peace Dove

This is your space to share, learn and participate!