Our
Origin Story
It Started With Gibbons
Anyone who knows a wild gibbon can't help but love these playful little apes!
But not everyone has that luxury.
Getting to know gibbons in the wild takes time, patience and a willingness to follow them through some pretty challenging rainforest terrain. It's an experience few people ever have.
So when an opportunity to study gibbons in Thailand was presented to our founder, Dr. Jackie, after a few years of studying gibbons in captivity, she jumped at the chance to see them living freely in the wild!
Armed with some research equipment, a video camera and a sturdy pair of hiking boots, Jackie left her comfortable home in Burlington and headed halfway around the world to live in rural Thailand, where she would be the only foreign researcher in the local community.
The world doesn't need us to decide who matters.
It needs us to make room for everyone to thrive.
- Dr. Jackie Prime
Life in the Rainforest
Most of her days were spent following gibbons through the rainforest with her field assistants, collecting data and recording the fascinating details of their lives. She watched young gibbons test their courage as they learned to leap between trees, witnessed families coordinating to defend their territories, and came to recognize the personalities, relationships and rivalries unfolding high above the forest floor.
And then there were the quieter moments.
Sitting beneath the canopy, listening to birds, insects and gibbons calling through the trees, Jackie was surrounded by life in every direction. Away from the noise and chaos of cities, there was room to notice things easily missed elsewhere. The forest wasn't simply a beautiful place to visit. It was a community, a home. And she was a part of it, too.
A World Beyond the Forest
Life outside the forest was every bit as memorable.
She immersed herself in the community, learned to speak Thai and built friendships that opened an entirely different world to her. From laughter-filled adventures with friends to community celebrations where she was welcomed as one of their own, she wasn't simply visiting another world.
She was a part of it all.
Birthday celebrations with friends in Thailand.
The more you get to know the world as it really is, full of extraordinary life, diversity, complexity, and wonder, the more you discover a world worth falling in love with.
And the harder it becomes to stand by while it's being destroyed.
- Dr. Jackie Prime
Something Worth Protecting
Getting to know gibbons so intimately gave Jackie a special connection to these little apes, but it also brought her face to face with the threats to their future. Habitat destruction, hunting and the wildlife trade were putting their freedom and survival in the wild at risk.
She wanted to share what she'd learned, introduce more people to their remarkable lives and put her expertise to work helping them.
And she wasn't about to give up on that ambition simply because her studies were coming to an end.
But Knowing Isn't Enough
Jackie knew that saving gibbons would take more than telling the world about them.
Teaching people about gibbons wasn't enough. People could understand the threats, feel compassion, even genuinely want to help, and still go back to living exactly as they had before.
She'd seen it happen with her own generation. Young people grew up wanting to protect the Earth, but many struggled to carry that commitment into adulthood.
The problem wasn't that young people didn't care.
They hadn't been given the opportunities or support to turn that care into lasting change.
Jackie had spent years teaching, coaching and working with young people, from sports and life skills to university classrooms. She knew what they were capable of, and that confidence, courage and resilience were built through experience, guidance and opportunities to put their abilities to work.
If young people were going to change the world, they needed to build the power to see it through.
![IMG_2680[edit].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/96c9ae_1e641c04eccc490dbad2ba61fbb10b5f~mv2_d_3504_2336_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_510,h_340,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/96c9ae_1e641c04eccc490dbad2ba61fbb10b5f~mv2_d_3504_2336_s_2.jpg)
Talking about precision hand skills with Brownies
Prime Earth Was Born
Prime Earth was born to help young people build their power and put it to work protecting and restoring the Earth.
From Experience to Action
Drawing on her own experiences, Jackie developed an approach to help young people find their Focus of Care, build their power through learning and support, and put it to work protecting the Earth.
She brought together family members, former coworkers, fellow graduate students and some of her own students to help get Prime Earth off the ground. Others joined along the way, contributing their own knowledge, skills and enthusiasm.
The team that brought PowerSeekers to life.
Today, Jackie continues to share that approach by training and guiding the mentors who support PowerSeekers.
And gibbons remain at the heart of it all.
![Christopher [1412].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/96c9ae_7e0bb9a7b15b43fb89ecfa0e6233f223~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_188,h_188,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Christopher%20%5B1412%5D_JPG.jpg)
![Chikyu [0882].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/96c9ae_db0972ada60c457ab9d3cad850db0a02~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_592,y_537,w_1920,h_1919/fill/w_188,h_188,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Chikyu%20%5B0882%5D_JPG.jpg)
![Chikyu & Malai [0199].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/96c9ae_aefb1874341a44e699615da0ce3960bc~mv2_d_3264_1840_s_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_712,y_0,w_1840,h_1840/fill/w_188,h_188,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Chikyu%20%26%20Malai%20%5B0199%5D_JPG.jpg)
Through our work, Jackie continues to put her knowledge and expertise to work helping gibbons and protecting the forests they depend on as she continues to help others build the power to do the same for the parts of the Earth that matter to them.
Nobody Builds Their Power Alone
Behind Jackie's experiences were people who believed in her, opened doors, shared their knowledge and helped make her journey possible.
She had funding, encouragement and opportunities that not everyone receives. Some of the people who helped her had impressive qualifications, influential connections and access to resources. Others had little formal education but shared their wisdom, their homes, their experiences, and their willingness to stand up for her.
They all had something valuable to contribute. And Jackie knew she wouldn't have made it this far without them.
That same support, knowledge, opportunity and connection are now part of how we help PowerSeekers build their own power.
What that means for PowerSeekers:
.png)
Support
People who believe in you, give you room to grow, offer guidance and stand beside you when you need them.
Knowledge
Experience, expertise and different perspectives that expand your understanding of the world.
Opportunities
Equitable access to explore your interests, discover your talents, develop your abilities and put them to work.
Connections
Relationships and communities where people share what they have and make room for one another.
As the Story Continues...
Jackie may spend more time guiding Prime Earth these days than following gibbons through the rainforest, but her experiences continue to shape everything we're building.
As Prime Earth's founder, chief scientist and first mentor, Jackie continues to guide our approach, train and guide our our mentors, share her knowledge and put her expertise to work helping gibbons.
%20symbol%20only.png){kind=logo}