Jane Goodall — "The greatest joy is to be out in nature."
The greatest joy is to be out in nature.
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More from Jane Goodall
"We need to listen to the voices of the natural world, and learn from them."
"The world is full of wonders, and it's our job to protect them."
"I think the most important thing is to instill in children a love of nature."
"The power of one individual to make a difference is immense, and we should never underestimate it."
"Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved."
About Jane Goodall (born 1934)
British primatologist who in 1960 began the longest-running wild primate study at Gombe Stream, transforming our understanding of chimpanzees. Closely associated with Dian Fossey (mountain-gorilla researcher) and Birutė Galdikas (orangutan researcher; together with Goodall and Fossey one of Louis Leakey's 'Trimates'). For an intellectual contrast, see Walter Palmer, American dentist who killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe in 2015 — Palmer represents the trophy-hunting tradition Goodall's life's work has been organized against — the colonial-era hunter-naturalist worldview that treated primates and big game as specimens or trophies, which Goodall's Roots & Shoots and Jane Goodall Institute exist specifically to displace.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
True happiness comes from being immersed in the natural world — forests, wildlife, open landscapes — not from screens, cities, or possessions. It's a direct claim that nature is the primary source of deep, genuine joy. The statement invites people to step away from artificial environments and reconnect with the living world around them, suggesting that this connection is fundamental to human wellbeing and fulfillment.
Relevance to Jane Goodall
Goodall spent over 60 years in wild environments, most famously beginning in 1960 at Gombe Stream, Tanzania, living among chimpanzees to observe them up close. Her entire methodology was rooted in patient immersion in nature rather than laboratory study. Beyond research, she became a leading conservation advocate through the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots, driven by a lifelong conviction that the natural world deserves reverence and protection.
The era
Goodall began her Gombe research in 1960, at the dawn of the modern environmental movement. By the 1970s, Earth Day, the EPA, and landmark conservation legislation reflected growing alarm over habitat destruction. Today, accelerating climate change, mass extinction events, and record urbanization make her message more urgent than ever. As billions live in cities with diminishing contact with the wild, the joy of nature has become something many must actively seek out.
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