On the 17th of September, the Department of Scientific Services of GNP had the pleasure of inaugurating the newly built Environmental Laboratory, financed by the Government of Portugal. This infrastructure complements the existing laboratories to allow experiments with animals and live plants using environmental conditions. This laboratory will be used for specific studies on the eco-located flight of bats and for breeding caterpillars to document trophic interactions and learn how caterpillars become adult moths and butterflies. In addition, it will be very useful for processing plant and soil samples, and it also offers perfect conditions for working with animal identification. Scientists, students and interns working on research projects and attending courses will benefit from this infrastructure and are already planning their new experiments with plants and insects in the laboratory. The official opening ceremony was divided into two parts, the first in the morning where the traditional part of the ceremony was held, which was conducted by the Chitengo Family in gratitude to the spirits for having allowed everything to go well, and the second part in the afternoon, performed by the Minister of Environment and Climate Action of Portugal (João Matos Fernandes) who said he is very happy to be back in Gorongosa and to be able to support and be part of this fantastic project.
Inauguration of the Ambient Lab
