Two Gorongosa National Park officials – Greg Carr and Dominique Gonçalves – will be honored by the U.S.-based Explorers Club alongside an incredible slate of 2023 Awardees at its Annual Dinner on April 22 in New York City.
Carr, president of the Gorongosa Restoration Project, will receive the Explorers Club President’s Award for Conservation, a special honor for accomplishments in the field, or for support of the Club and its mission.
Gonçalves will receive the New Explorer Award, which is granted to young explorers whose work serves to broaden knowledge of all phases of the universe, with an emphasis in physical, biological, and natural sciences, engineering, and resource conservation.
Carr and Gonçalves are part of a team of more than 1,000 employees who are heavily involved in the restoration of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. Together, this group of dedicated scientists, community development professionals, wildlife experts and support staff have reintroduced buffaloes, zebras, wildebeests, painted wolves, leopards, hyenas and other species to the Park’s ecosystem, and planted more than two million trees in the Mt. Gorongosa rainforest. Other accomplishments include the development of the EO Wilson Laboratory, an International Restoration Ecology Science Research Center, and local job creation by re-establishing eco-tourism and engaging local farmers in sustainable agricultural projects. The Human Development Department provides health care, education and agricultural assistance to local communities and after-school programs in ninety primary schools help keep teen girls in school and out of child marriage.
The Explorers Club, founded in New York City in 1904, is a hub for the world’s foremost explorers and serves as a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation.
Explorer Club members are considered to be of the same caliber as renowned alumni Sir Edmund Hillary, Thor Heyerdahl, and Ernest Shackleton. Current honorary members include Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and James Cameron.