That was the message Richard Leakey delivered to a group of Los Gatos and Saratoga students. And it was no accident that such a world-renowned man came to Saratoga for a visit. Leakey spent the afternoon on Sept. 3 being interviewed by a select group of seventh- and eighth-grade students who attend Hillbrook School, a private academic institution in Los Gatos.

"Climate change is going to be seen in a lifetime—as opposed to being spread out over several thousand years," said Leakey, 59.

Over the last century, Leakey said the human activity of burning fossil fuel—which emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—is causing global warming at an alarming rate. As global environmental issues continue to accelerate, he said constant pressure is being put on species "to adapt or perish."

Leakey, a native of Kenya, is the son of the late anthropologists Mary and Louis Leakey, who made key fossil discoveries that have aided in understanding human origins. Following in his parents' footsteps, Leakey has received worldwide attention for his work as an environmentalist and paleoanthropologist, although Leakey said that he no longer believes such titles fit him. While he's had many roles during his lifetime, he'd rather just be known as Dr. Richard Leakey.

The educational event was held at the Saratoga home of Bill and Kathy Cleary, who have two sons who attend Hillbrook. And the discussion with Leakey was videotaped with the assistance of Los Gatos parent and professional editor Felice Leeds, as a reference for educators and students. Leeds said she's optimistic that Leakey's visit will motivate her seventh-grade son, Dash, to continue his interests in science.

"I hope it will inspire him to continue to research and think about the environment," she said.

Leeds' son was the least intimidated out of the group of students to fire away at Leakey. The students' questions touched on everything from evolution and climate changes to Leakey's most important discovery and the details of what it's like to find a real fossil. But the community service activity was just one component of Leakey's current campaign.

He spent the week in the Bay Area promoting an endeavor called "Life Matters", a series of conferences and forums beginning in May 2005, which will bring together United Nations and World Bank officials, top scientists, heads of states and business leaders. With the support of Stony Brook University in New York, where Leakey is a visiting professor, he's planning to generate conversation through "Life Matters" to find solutions to bigger issues, like climate change, biodiversity, inequities in wealth, and depletion of plant and animal species, especially those in national parks.

"There's a fairy tale that because we have a national park, [the animals] are somehow protected," Leakey said. "They may be protected from cattle ranchers or farmers, but they are not protected from climate changes."

Leakey's hope is that he'll receive international funding and leadership to take his initiative forward. He said he's trying to change the way people think as well as the course of human history. But it's a challenge that requires funds, support and networking.

To aid in achieving that goal, more than 120 people went to Villa Montalvo in Saratoga on Sept. 2 to support Leakey's cause and hear him speak. The $500-per-person dinner was sponsored by Bill Cleary's marketing agency, Cleary & Partners of Palo Alto.

To host Leakey's visit, Cleary had a special guesthouse built on the back of his property—decoratively detailed in an African theme—to appropriately accommodate Leakey during his stay. Cleary's friendship with Leakey stems from Cleary's brother-in-law, who is Kenyan, and also because Cleary sits on the dean's advisory board at Stony Brook in the human origins department.

In addition, Leakey spent Sept. 1 engaged in a round-table discussion about environmental issues at San Francisco City Hall with Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, among other notable politicians. But Hillbrook students didn't seem as interested in asking about Leakey's campaigning as they were with how he'd once saved elephants from poachers.

"I researched elephant poaching," said Saratoga eighth-grader Andrew Strong, regarding his preparation for the Sept. 3 event. "Dr. Leakey became the head of the national parks association in Kenya, and he took game parks and turned them into elephant refuges."

Leakey patiently answered the children's questions about how elephants in Kenya's parks were being shot in the 1960s and '70s by armed poachers for their valuable ivory.

"It was a hopeless situation. We were facing a risk that tourists would no longer come to Kenya," said Leakey, adding that visitors were not interested in seeing elephants without tusks.

As the former head of Kenya Wildlife Service, Leakey was appointed to protect the elephants, other endangered species and related ecosystems. Leakey told the students how elephants need their tusks to feed in the savanna and consume vegetation. Elephants also support other parts of the ecological food chain, and without them, Leakey said, the savannas wouldn't remain plain-like and open.

When students asked Leakey why he no longer works in the field, he said a 1993 plane crash caused him to lose both his legs. The crash was speculated to be related to sabotage, but was never confirmed. Leakey said without legs, going out on digs would be difficult, so he's leaving the task up to his wife and 33-year-old daughter.

Tall, red-faced and dressed in a striped blue shirt and khakis, Leakey took on a gentlemanly tone with the children rather than the combative edge and powerful appearance for which he's known. Leakey said he hoped to inspire the children and allow them to take away a deeper understanding of human origins and the importance of conservation. Both are topics the students have been studying in detail under the direction of Hillbrook science teacher Karen Maor.

"For me, evolution is the core of biology," Maor said. "And why not meet one of the core people in the field? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."