If anyone ever doubts the power of one person to be a positive force on the world, just mention Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist and conservationist, and bring up the Roots & Shoots program her institute started in 1991.

Seventeen years after its inception, the program counts 8,000 groups of young people in 96 countries working to better our planet through projects concerning animals, the environment and humans. The program is designed to be flexible; the international organization provides a framework, tools and resources, but anyone can form or join a group, and each group designs projects specifically tailored to the needs and circumstances in its own community.

There are three Roots & Shoots groups in our community.

Amelia Perrin, a 10-year-old student at Carolina Friends School, said the motto of the Roots & Shoots group her mother, Suzanne Roy, helped co-found a year ago is "Defenders and Protectors of Nature and Wildlife."

"I was very excited about the group," Amelia said. "I love animals and any opportunity to help animals."

A highlight of this past year for her was meeting Goodall when the famed primatologist and anthropologist spoke at Duke in October.

"She is just really cool," Amelia said.

Like mother, like daughter. Before Amelia was born, the organization that Roy works for, In Defense of Animals, sponsored a talk by Goodall at UC-Berkeley.

"I got to spend a day and a half with her, taking her around to media interviews, and she is one of the most inspiring yet down-to-earth people I have ever met," Roy said.

That awesome time remained fresh in Roy's mind, and she hoped to someday start a Roots & Shoots group as a way of inspiring children to care about animals and the environment.

Last year, Catherine Neill agreed to co-found the group with Roy. She too is a great fan of Goodall's.

"She really speaks to me," Neill said.

One project the local group has been working on lately is the drought and its effect on the living things in this area. The group went out to a stream they have frequently explored and sought out animal tracks along its bank. The stream was quite low, and the signs of turtles and slugs that were prominent in times of normal rain were now much less infrequent. Neill said that fieldwork helped the youngsters fully grasp the impact of drought on living things.

"They are hearing about these concepts, but this is an age where things that are made tangible grip them and then they take them to heart," Neill said.

Before Christmas, the group made and distributed stockings with animal goodies for animals at the Orange County Animal Protection Society.

"I think they are really growing into this," Neill said. "It has filled in a lot of details for them about how all things are related. It is not just taking care of animals at the shelter because it is a fun thing. The animals are there, but it is because other things are happening that we are needing to have a bigger view of how we can be responsible."

In addition to these activities, the group has taken an educational walk with rangers at Occoneechee State Park and planted trees there for Earth Day, collected and made items to donate to Piedmont Wildlife Center and heard its educational presentation, made peace doves and attended Goodall's Duke lecture and participated in the Orange County APS walk (where they won the prize for most money collected by a team).

They have also been partnered by the main Roots & Shoots office (Jane Goodall Institute, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22203, 800-592-JANE) with a Roots & Shoots group in Tanzania.

Zack Weiss, who is almost 10 and attends McDougle Elementary School, had read a book about Goodall but never imagined he would get to meet her. But he and the rest of the group attended her lecture, where they flew a large peace dove, an emblem that Goodall encourages Roots & Shoots groups to create and fly every Sept. 21 in honor of the International Day of Peace. After Goodall's lecture, Weiss and his co members had a photo taken with her.

"I was a little shy. I liked meeting her," Weiss said.

Ceci Neill, Catherine Neill's daughter and a student at Emerson Waldorf School, also enjoyed meeting Goodall. Her enthusiasm at being a part of the Roots & Shoots group rose several notches after the encounter.

"Meeting her made me want to do more," said Neill, who has told friends about the group. "I think it would be fun for them to learn about her."

Elan Wang, the membership manager at the Jane Goodall Institute, said that besides the community impact the Roots & Shoots groups make, the transformation the youth go through is important in that it changes their opinions of themselves and their capabilities to effect change.

"The other nice thing about it is that it is very inclusive," Wang said. "There are some kids who might feel alone in their ideas and gain some comfort in belonging to this larger network. I've had comments about how being in Roots & Shoots was the first time they felt like they belonged and it was the first time they found a community that cared as much as they did."

"I like making a difference in the world," said 10-year-old Alice Monroe, a student at Emerson Waldorf School. Her mother, Laurie Carson, has been assisting the group.

"I have found it to be extremely rewarding and exciting," Carson said. "I am a stay-at-home mom, so having this outlet of activism is very positive. I loved Jane Goodall when I was a little girl, and I like having the opportunity to spend time with my daughter in this way."

She encourages anyone interested in starting a Roots & Shoots group to go to www.rootsandshoots.org. Roy said that she is glad to provide assistance to anyone who wants to form a group; she can contacted at suzxanne.e.roy@earthlink.net.

Her existing local group is at capacity, but there are other groups in the area that are accepting applications and can be contacted through the site.

Thank you, Jane.