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In the summer of 1960, I first arrived on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa to study the area's chimpanzee population.

At the time, it was unheard of for a woman to venture into the wilds of the African forest, it was a trip that I had dreamt about as a little girl.

At first, the chimps fled whenever they saw me. But I persisted, watching from a distance with binoculars, and gradually the chimps allowed me closer. One day in October 1960 I saw chimps David Graybeard and Goliath strip leaves off twigs to fashion tools for fishing termites from a nest. At the time, scientists thought humans were the only species to make tools, but here was evidence to the contrary. When I told my mentor Louis Leakey, he said: "Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans."

After studying the chimps for many years, I began to realize that their habitat and very way of life was in danger. In 1977, I founded the Jane Goodall Institute to work with the people who live around Gombe to conserve the forest.

From there I founded the Roots & Shoots program in 1991, which has truly become my passion.

Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak but to reach the light they can break through brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds and thousands of roots and shoots, hundreds and thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. You can change the world.

Visit the Jane Goodall Institute Community for Social Change