PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- It was an emotional day for more than 1,000 students, educators and community leaders who gathered Wednesday morning, poised to hear Goodall speak.
"The Jane Goodall Institute has learned this morning Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, UN messenger of peace and the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away due to natural causes," Erin McCombs from the Jane Goodall Institute announced to the crowd.
"Shock" is the word that kept coming up after news broke of her death. What was meant to be a celebration of new life planting trees for the future turned into a moment of gratitude and honor for the legacy Goodall left behind.
"I cried. I wanted to meet her my whole life. She's always been a hero to me. I would do lots of presentations on her and like the whole reason I am who I am is because of her," said Chris Rosgen, an 11th grade student.
"I know that the celebration that we're having today is a reflection of the life she lived," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
"We were really gonna meet her, and like she was gonna be there in front of us, so just finding out the news was really sad ... we were about to see her like," said Artin Tabibi, a 9th grade student.
Goodall and students from Altadena, Pacific Palisades and L.A. County were set to kick off TREEAMS, short for Trees and Dreams, the student-led movement with the goal of planting 5,000 trees over the next few years.