How old are you?

On April 27 2014, I celebrated my 26th birthday.

Where do you live?

I live in the east of Hamburg (Germany), only three stations from the Central Station. Nevertheless, it is a rather quiet, green quarter and my appartment has a nice balcony for relaxing and gardening :o)

What do you do?

In March 2015 I will finish my studies (Biology and English for becoming a teacher at secondary / grammar schools) at the University of Hamburg with the „Master of Education" degree.

Besides studying I work at the famous Hamburg zoo "Hagenbecks Tierpark" as an educator (giving guided tours for pupils, families...).

Which YEE member organisation do you belong to? What are the main activities of your organisation?

Since my voluntary service in 2007 I am a member of FÖJ-AKTIV e.V. It is an organization to support and develop the one-year ecological voluntary service FÖJ in Germany for young people aged 16-27 years. The organization aims to help volunteers develop and carry out projects that are additional to the tasks at their workplace. All the projects and activities we do together promote the ecological voluntary service itself as well as environmental-friendly and sustainable living. Our organization depends on active members who want to volunteer even more and thus gain even more experience in project work. Additionally, FÖJ-AKTIV e.V. gives its members the opportunity to improve the voluntary service (politically) and represent their interests to uphold its high quality.

Why did you want to become a member of the YEE Board?

As a former member of the FÖJ-AKTIV board I gained experience in how to run an organization. FÖJ-AKTIV is a rather small organization, but it also serves as a platform which active members can shape and use to put into practice their great project ideas, with the support of the board. YEE is just fascinatingly larger and thus has much more impact. The great thing about being a YEE board member is that you can use your connections and network all over Europe to bring even more people together and motivate them to be active.

What is your main aim as a 2014 - 2015 Board member?

My main aim for the upcoming year as a board member is to uphold the quality of decision making and team work in the board and the close relationship between board and YEE office. This year I will focus on the implementation of Short-Term-Strategies voted upon by the General Assembly of our member organisations.
I would like to continue the work from my first mandate last year and increase YEE's visibility and reputation in high quality projects with great impact for participants and their organisations and local surroundings (but small impact on the environment). Furthermore, I want to encourage all member organizations and their members to be good role models for society by promoting and living a sustainable way of life.

What environmental problem worries you the most?

Biodiversity (variety of life) is the most precious good we have on Earth as well as the root of our progress. Human beings show a high diversity of skills, knowledge and talents which have helped to increase our quality of life through new inventions and research. However, we depend on a variety of animals, plants and minerals for food, medicine, resources (for energy supplies) and materials.
At the same time we carelessly destroy ecosystems – mostly obliviously– by our everyday consumption behaviour. Species that have been optimized by evolution over millions of years are at risk of become extinct extremely fast. Therefore the greatest importance to me is to raise awareness to protect and esteem our rich nature, and all we can learn and get from it. When we act in order to protect biodiversity, we act sustainably.

What is your favourite place in nature?

I think this would be in a kayak on a very small river downstream through the forests in the East of Germany (it is a kind of lake district, called Mecklenburgische Seenplatte). There are a national park and nature conservation areas and you can see various animals, plant species and huge trees there. You can breath in the fresh air, listen to the sound of nature and relax!