Meet Dr. Moreangels Mbizah, a No Boundaries Blog Tour post

March 28, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor 1 comments

Welcome to the No Boundaries Blog Tour!

In No Boundaries, twenty-five inspiring women from around the world — many of whom are National Geographic Explorers — share their adventures, failures, successes, sage advice and lessons learned, straight from the field. This week, get to know five of the amazing women featured in No Boundaries and be inspired by their work and the challenges they overcame to forge new paths in science and exploration!

A note from the authors, Gabby Salazar and Clare Fieseler

Standing outside our tents on the savanna, we heard elephants in the distance. Stars twinkled brightly above, and the moon cast a dim glow across the landscape below. We were camping out in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, with Dr. Moreangels Mbizah, one of the brave scientists featured in No Boundaries.

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We had traveled together to Zimbabwe from our homes in the United States to make a short film about Moreangels — her research tracking lions and the challenges she’d faced as a woman in science. National Geographic had funded our trip so we could tell her story, and the stories of other women pushing boundaries in challenging situations around the globe. Our desire to tell these stories led us to Zimbabwe and, also, to writing this book.

Inside No Boundaries, you’ll encounter women who’ve done, and are still doing, incredible things. You’ll read about their careers, read their words of wisdom, and learn about the awesome animals, places, and cultures they’ve encountered.

The women in this book have traveled the world to protect animals, tell stories, preserve history, complete incredible athletic feats—and so much more. And yet, we’ve rarely seen media showing women like these in the field, getting dirty, confronting biases, and changing the world.

Ultimately, we created this book because it’s a book we wish we had when we were growing up. We chose to write about women who inspired us— women whose grit and ingenuity led them to do great things, whether in their backyards or on Mars. Each woman’s story tells of a different path, a certain struggle, or a unique way of getting started. These women aren’t from another century. They are on the front lines of science and exploration today.

We hope these stories show you that there is no one path to changing the world and doing what matters. We hope they show you that there is no one way that a scientist should look, or one place that an explorer should come from. We hope you find inspiration in them, just as we do.

Gabby and Clare

National Geographic Explorers

Meet Dr. Moreangels Mbizah

Lion conservationist, Moreangels Mbizah, lives in South Africa, works in Zimbabwe, and studies in England. As one of the few female scientists in sub-Sahara Africa, Mbizah is committed to staying on the continent in order to carry out her research in Hwange National Park. The main goal of Moreangels’s research is to identify threats to lions, such as the loss of their prey populations or other changes in their habitat , and to find innovative ways of addressing these threats.

Q: Are you often the only woman out in the field when you’re working on these lion study projects?

Moreangels:

“Yes, and it’s sometimes difficult to be the only woman among all the men, but they treat me as an equal and respect me as a person, and I think that’s why we work together very well. It’s not common in Zimbabwe, or in most African countries, for women to be field scientists. When I meet young girls in the local villages, they get very excited to see me doing fieldwork.”

Moreangels‘s Advice for Aspiring Conservation Biologists:

“My advice is to talk to people already in the field and find a good mentor. Look for good role models for inspiration, too, because sometimes it will get tough. But when you have people who inspire you, that will help you carry on. Also, try to volunteer with conservation projects to get to know more about wildlife. That will give you valuable experience and help you decide which kind of conservation you want to focus on.”

To learn more about Moreangels and her work, check out this fascinating video and visit her online at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Meet 25 female explorers and scientists in these inspirational and poignant stories of exploration, courage, and girl power.

Along the way, they share lessons learned and words of wisdom sure to inspire the next generation of scientists, adventurers, and world-changers.

Track a volcanologist as she braves the elements atop an active volcano. Travel alongside a mountaineer as she battles stereotypes―and frostbite―to conquer the famed Seven Summits. Join a conservationist on her passionate fight to save lions. Dig with a paleontologist to uncover massive dinosaur fossils, bit by breathtaking bit. These heartfelt stories give readers an insider’s look at the amazing work female explorers at National Geographic―and beyond―are doing in the field to solve some of the world’s toughest problems.

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Rather than detailing the lives of well-known women, this anthology celebrates lesser-known changemakers and outstanding women of diverse backgrounds, nationalities, and fields of study who are just beginning to make a name for themselves. Each profile is based on first-person interviews and comes paired with useful tips and relatable advice for budding explorers and scientists. Stunning photography and fascinating general interest information about the animals, places, and practices add drama and context.

No Boundaries sends a positive message to every girl who has ever dreamed or dared to go a little further. And although these explorers’ endeavors are quite adventurous, the lessons they share can inspire all girls, as well as boys, whatever their goals, skills, and interests.

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CLARE FIESELER is a National Geographic explorer, photojournalist, and conservation biologist. She has conducted field research on coral reefs and island ecology across the Caribbean and wider Atlantic Ocean. She also studies urban wildlife in her home city of Washington, D.C. As a journalist, Fieseler has traveled the globe, reporting on emerging environmental problems for the Washington Post, NPR, and National Geographic, among other outlets. She was awarded the 2019 Mass Media Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Fieseler is most proud of the time she rappelled down a rock cliff with a broken foot to photograph the world’s most endangered fern.

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GABBY SALAZAR is a National Geographic explorer, a nature and conservation photographer, and a social scientist. As a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Photography and an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, she has worked on environmental photography projects across the globe, spending months at a time living in tropical rainforests and on tropical islands. Salazar has an MSc in Conservation Science from Imperial College London and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Florida’s School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Science, where she studies environmental marketing. She is committed to environmental education and uses photography to get kids outdoors and to connect them with nature.

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