For immediate release.

Fernbank Partners with Jane Goodall community program, Roots & Shoots

The museum is to lead a youth-oriented community service program.

(OCT. 3, 2024) ATLANTA, GA — Fernbank Museum announces an exciting new partnership with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, a youth-oriented program created by the Jane Goodall Institute. Fernbank is the first museum in the world to formalize this level of partnership with the Roots & Shoots program, recognizing Fernbank’s commitment to empowering curiosity, innovation and science education.

“We were thrilled to be approached about hosting a Roots & Shoots group at Fernbank in Atlanta,” said Sarah Arnold, the Director of Education at Fernbank Museum. “Both Fernbank and Roots & Shoots strive to empower people, giving them the confidence to make positive changes in their communities and the world, and this partnership will be a special opportunity to do that.”

Roots & Shoots is centered around the interconnections of plants, animals and the environment and how young people can do their part to become changemakers. This program connects closely with Fernbank, which includes an old-growth forest, giant screen theater and natural history museum, and its mission to ignite a passion for science, nature and human culture through exploration and discovery.

Fernbank Museum worked with the Jane Goodall Institute team to recruit middle school students from DeKalb County to participate in this exciting new program. After brainstorming a project, these students decided to focus on revitalizing Fernbank’s Rain Garden. Rain gardens are dry streambeds designed to capture rainwater and runoff from surfaces that water cannot penetrate and allow the water to be filtered and slowly absorbed into the ground. The students in the Roots & Shoots program will be removing debris, adding new stones and planting native species in this area.

Founded in 1991, Roots & Shoots provides resources and encouragement for young people all over the world to be able to act on issues they are passionate about. While in the program, participants can advocate for a topic that matters to them for the chance to make real change. They learn valuable skills through hands-on work and strategic problem-solving which allow them to identify local issues, select and implement service projects to address those issue and work towards making positive changes in the community and greater world around them. The Atlanta partnership between Roots & Shoots and Fernbank is made possible with the funding support of DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry.

Fernbank is still seeking Dekalb County students to join the Roots & Shoots student group. For more information, please visit https://fernbankmuseum.org/learn/community-programs/roots-and-shoots/ 

###

Media Inquiries  

Jena Allison, Communications Manager   

Jena.Allison@FernbankMuseum.org  

404.929.6381   

About Fernbank  

Fernbank is one of the most popular and iconic cultural destinations in Atlanta. Known as Atlanta's Science and Nature Experience, Fernbank invites guests to discover a World of Wow through an expansive natural history museum, 4-story Giant Screen Theater, and 75 acres of nature adventures in WildWoods and Fernbank Forest. One of the oldest not-for-profit conservation organizations in the country, Fernbank was founded in 1939 to preserve Fernbank Forest, the largest urban, old growth, Piedmont forest in the United States. The museum and giant screen theater opened as "a school in the woods for nature studies" on Oct. 5, 1992, and is today known for its giant dinosaurs, hands-on STEAM* programming, immersive experiences, and year-round nature exploration. Visit fernbankmuseum.org for more information and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok.

*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.

About the Jane Goodall Institute   

The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global, community-led conservation organization founded in 1977 that advances the vision and work of Dr. Jane Goodall in 25 chapters around the world. We aim to understand and protect chimpanzees, other apes and their habitats, and empower people to be compassionate citizens in order to inspire conservation of the natural world we all share. JGI uses research, community-led conservation, best-in-class animal welfare standards, and the innovative use of science and technology to inspire hope and transform it into action for the common good. Through our Roots & Shoots program for young people of all ages, now active in over 65 countries around the world, JGI is creating a movement of compassionate people who will help to create a better world for people, other animals, and our shared environment.