#SmallScreenScenes @Discovery THE EXPLORERS CLUB & DISCOVERY ANNOUNCE FIRST WAVE OF GRANTS TO FUND AN ARRAY OF SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS
First $250,000 Awarded for cutting-edge scientific research
Expeditions to be highlighted across Discovery Channel’s global footprint through Field Exploration and Storytelling
The Explorers Club and Discovery Channel announced the award of approximately a quarter of a million dollars to five exceptional explorers, researchers, and scientists who are planning expeditions in the fields of marine and conservation biology, archaeology, anthropology, and planetary science across the globe. The announcement is the first of multiple grants being awarded yearly through a new partnership with Discovery.
Spanning the globe and from a diverse cross-section of explorers, the thrilling expeditions focus on everything from the impact of plastic on sharks of the Mediterranean, the “real-life” Tom Sawyer shipwreck, the Nenets reindeer herders on the Siberian tundra, the thousands of bats that dwell in El Salitre cave in Mexico, and using drones to search for the chemistry of life in a Mars-like Arctic field site.
“Through our partnership with Discovery, we are excited to continue our mission to promote scientific understanding to a larger audience,” said Richard Wiese, President of The Explorers Club. “This new class of grants is the largest amount awarded in the Club’s 116-year history. The goal of science is for the betterment of humanity, and this represents an opportunity to bring cutting-edge expeditions and their findings to a larger audience through Discovery’s vast multi-platform network. There are not many opportunities for field scientists to receive this level of funding and we’re excited to make this happen for these extraordinary explorers.”
“The next greatest scientific discovery is around the corner. Discovery and The Explorers Club are always searching for the best stories to help us understand ourselves and our world, making this a perfect partnership,” stated Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery and Factual.
Dozens of proposals from all six continents were vetted by The Explorers Club scientific community, ensuring the highest standard of expedition projects and scientists. Those selected represent a new era in exploration where local and indigenous cultures are included in the planning and implementation of fieldwork.
The content from these Discovery-funded expeditions, as well as films, documentaries, and social media highlighting the work of The Explorers Club members, will be featured on the Discovery Channel and its digital platforms, promoting The Explorers Club mission on a global scale.
The six grantees who comprise the first class of recipients will receive approximately $250,000 collectively to fund their expeditions.
The awardees and their project field of research are listed below:
Anggra Alfian, Celebica (Sulawesi, Indonesia)
Expedition: With the hope of developing conservation programs in the area, this expedition will document plant species, habitat conditions and the conservation status at Mt. Latimojong–the highest mountain in Sulawesi. This area boasts high endemic biodiversity and the exploration and sample collection will be carried out during both the dry and the rainy seasons by creating a herbarium.
Andrej Gajic, Center For Marine and Freshwater Biology Sharklab ADRIA (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Expedition: Studying the effects of ocean-plastics on sharks, this expedition will set off into the Adriatic Sea on a scientific mission to study how human plastic waste works its way up the food chain and into the ocean’s top carnivores.
Dr. K. David Harrison, Swarthmore College (Redding, Connecticut)
Expedition: As the Arctic melts, and oil companies move in, the Nenets people of Russia, who for centuries have driven their reindeer along an annual, 800-mile migration, now must navigate new terrain. Their ancient odyssey, and the unique knowledge of nature it has provided, will survive only as long as there is snow and ice beneath their feet. This expedition will document the stories and visuals of Nenets reindeer herding on the Siberian tundra and includes a Nenets co-leader and anthropologist, Dr. Roza Laptander.
Dr. Nina Lanza, Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, New Mexico)
Expedition: A largely female team of experts will use cutting-edge technology in a beautiful, Mars-like Arctic desert to tell the story of how the search for the chemistry of life on Mars begins with fieldwork on Earth near the Haughton crater in northern Canada.
Dr. Edgard David Mason, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and Autonomous University of Morelos State (UAEM)
Expedition: Bats have been vilified in the media due to links to Covid-19, but they are a fascinating group of species—key pollinators, insect population controllers, and seed dispersers–that need our protection more than we need to be protected from them. This expedition will use state-of-the-art technology to peel back the darkness and learn about the incredible lives of the thousands of bats that live in Mexico’s El Salitre Cave.
Peter Tattersfield, in collaboration with Mexico’s Underwater Archaeology Office of the National Institute of Anthropology History (SAS-INAH) – (Polanco, Mexico)
Expedition: In 1853 the Steamship Independence hit rocks off Isla Margarita and went ablaze. Although the crew members heroically fought to save the passengers–including one Tom Sawyer, who served as inspiration for Mark Twain’s book–132 drowned. For decades, underwater archaeologists have been combing the waters off Baja Mexico for the wreck of the Steamship Independence, and now finally this international team of explorers is poised to uncover it.
Discovery, as a media partner of The Explorers Club, will join in providing funding for expeditions across land, sea, air, and space giving worldwide audiences the opportunity to experience these expeditions on both linear and digital platforms. As Explorers Club members continue to break records, push boundaries, and discover new frontiers, Discovery and The Explorers Club will work to highlight both past and upcoming expeditions.
Last year, Discovery and The Explorers Club collaborated on CONFESSIONS FROM SPACE: APOLLO, which included interviews with Apollo Astronauts who were honored at The Explorers Club Annual Dinner celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Recently The Explorers Club honored member Victor Vescovo with the 2020 – 2021 Explorers Club Medal. Vescovo’s recent record-breaking voyage to the deepest points of all five oceans is the subject of the upcoming Discovery Channel series, EXPEDITION DEEP OCEAN.
About The Explorers Club:
Since its inception in 1904, the mission of The Explorers Club has been to promote exploration by all possible means. Members of the Club have traversed the earth, the seas, the skies, and even the moon. Expeditions include being first to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the Summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean and first to the surface of the Moon – all accomplished by Explorers Club Members. Notable members include some of the greatest men and women of science, including Teddy Roosevelt, Neil Armstrong, Jane Goodall, Matthew Henson, Edmund Hillary, John Glenn, Sally Ride and Bob Ballard.
About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 88.3 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 224 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.
About Discovery
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and nearly 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Eurosport Player, Food Network Kitchen and MotorTrend OnDemand; digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media; a landmark natural history and factual content partnership with the BBC; and a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. Discovery’s portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and the forthcoming multi-platform JV with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit corporate.discovery.com and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
