African Wildlife & Environment Issue 81

ECO HERO

and Lisbon in Portugal; the Universities of Oxford and Kent in the UK; and Harvard, Princeton, and Berkeley Universities in the USA. One of the roles of the Laboratory is to provide training to the next generation of Mozambican scientists in the Park, and to send them to universities to obtain advanced degrees. Young people (from the neighbouring communities of the Park or from technical schools in the region), receive total or partial financial assistance from the Laboratory and are studying at universities and high schools for careers as veterinarians, ecologists, and laboratory technicians. Some Mozambican researchers and students have also received support from the Wilson Foundation. “You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honourably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give.” - E.O.Wilson

ecosystem, providing training in conservation biology, ecology, and environmental management. Mozambican students apply knowledge gained in their courses to hands-on research projects in the field. They enjoy a full tuition scholarship, generously funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Acknowledgement The Editorial Team is deeply grateful to Vasco Galante, Director of Communications, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique for permission to use this tribute and the accompanying photographs in African Wildlife & Environment magazine. We hope that increasing numbers of visitors to Gorongosa will demonstrate their support for this remarkable corner of the planet, which has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes of war, and serves as a symbol of what good people can do to heal the Planet from our misguided actions. John Ledger. Vasco is at vasco@gorongosa.net

Graduating Master's Students in Gorongosa Park, holding signed copies of Professor E.O. Wilson's book Letters to a Young Scientist (Photo by Augusto Bila)

This Eco-Hero series is edited by Dr Lynn Hurry and comments or suggestions for future articles are welcome. lynn@ecology.co.za

Gorongosa’s MSc programme in Conservation Biology is taught entirely inside the Gorongosa

61 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 81 (2022)