The Disney Conservation Fund’s new gift brings Disney’s total for Roots & Shoots past $7.5 million, as 10 young conservation leaders gather at Walt Disney World.
Disney is putting another $1 million behind the youth program Jane Goodall started 35 years ago.
The Disney Conservation Fund announced a $1 million investment in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots on Monday, Oct. 26, The Walt Disney Company said. The new money brings Disney’s total investment in the program to more than $7.5 million.
The news came as 10 young conservation leaders from across the U.S. gathered at Walt Disney World for a multi-day summit, with time behind the scenes at Animal Kingdom and EPCOT.
Their path to Florida started with a Pixar movie. Here’s the video that launched the challenge in February:
What is Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots?
It’s the youth program of the Jane Goodall Institute. It helps young people spot problems in their own communities and take action for people, animals and the environment.
Dr. Jane Goodall founded Roots & Shoots in 1991. Today it’s active in 75 countries, including all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, according to Disney.
Goodall, the famed chimpanzee researcher, died in October 2025 at 91. Disney’s announcement calls her “the late Dr. Jane Goodall.”
How were the 10 youth leaders picked?
Through the “Hop into the Animal Kingdom Challenge,” which Disney created with Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots USA.
The challenge celebrated two milestones, Disney said: Hoppers, Disney and Pixar’s 30th feature film, which hit theaters March 6, and the Disney Conservation Fund’s own 30th anniversary.
The winners were already leading projects at home. Disney listed them:
Angela Butz (New Jersey): native pollinator habitats
Jack Dalton (Massachusetts): rainforest conservation through education and storytelling
Shea Polley (Florida): sea turtle conservation
Destiny Joy Sagay (Georgia): plastic pollution cleanup
Marlee Christiansen (Illinois): bird and bat habitats
William Tan (Minnesota): aquatic conservation using new reef technology
Cash Daniels (Tennessee): shark conservation awareness
Ethan Park (Texas): prairie restoration
Nateli Sanderson (Washington): orca and salmon habitat restoration
Katelyn Liu (California): youth access to STEM and conservation education
What did they do at Walt Disney World?
They spent several days learning from Disney’s animal care, veterinary, science, conservation and storytelling experts, according to the company. They also explored careers in conservation and met other young changemakers.
Each one was paired with a Disney mentor who’ll coach them on their careers and education for the next year.
The winners also got small grants from the Disney Conservation Fund. Since then, they’ve led native plantings, run reef restoration events, put up bat boxes and sent turtle-themed care packages to kids with cancer, Disney said.
They helped pick more winners, too. The challenge ended up awarding 102 grants to youth-led projects in 32 states and territories.
What did Disney and the Goodall Institute say?
“The future of conservation depends on supporting and inspiring the next generation of leaders,” said Claire Martin, senior manager of biodiversity conservation programs at Disney.
Anna Rathmann, CEO of the Jane Goodall Institute USA, said the 10 winners embody Goodall’s belief that young people are “our greatest reason for hope.”
Does Disney have other ties to Jane Goodall?
Many. Goodall advised Disney while it was creating Animal Kingdom, consulted on Disneynature films and was a longtime National Geographic Explorer, Disney said in its tribute after her death last year.
The company called her one of the park’s “earliest and most trusted advisors.”
Then-CEO Bob Iger recalled a reporter once asking where she’d live if she were an animal. Her answer was Animal Kingdom, “because that’s where animals get the best care.”
National Geographic, now part of Disney, also released the documentary Jane in 2017. It’s streaming on Disney+.
Where can you see Jane Goodall’s tribute at Animal Kingdom?
On the Tree of Life. Disney honored her with a plaque on the tree, next to a carving of David Greybeard, the first chimpanzee to approach her during her research at Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
Next time you’re walking the trails around the tree, see if you can find him.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
The Walt Disney Company (Oct. 26, 2026), the $1 million investment, the summit, the winners, the grants and the quotes
The Walt Disney Company (Oct. 2025), its tribute to Goodall and the Tree of Life plaque
Laughing Place (Oct. 26, 2026), the announcement
Dr. Jane Goodall & the Jane Goodall Institute USA on YouTube (Feb. 28, 2026), the challenge video
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