On Monday, the 2^nd of August, 2021, my alarm clock rang early in the morning. It took me around 9 hours to travel by train from Hesse to Ruegen, Germany’s largest island in the North-East. After arriving, I was happy to find myself on the second to last ferry boat of the day from the Island of Ruegen to the Isle of Vilm. After another 20 minutes running time, the other passengers and I took our first steps on the isle. The passengers were young academics who participated in the “interdisciplinary science meeting on biodiversity research under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),” which was organised by the “International Academy for Nature Conservation Isle of Vilm” (INA). The INA is part of a branch office of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), which is one of the government’s departmental research agencies and works in the area of responsibility of the German federal environment ministry. The interdisciplinary science meeting takes place every summer and mainly addresses bachelor´s, master´s and Ph.D. students. Mrs. Stadler, the meeting host, warmly welcomed the students and showed the way to the reception desk. Along the way, a big information board close to the harbour provides every arriving guest with information on the fascinating history of the isle:

• The Isle of Vilm was already settled in Stone Age 7,500 years ago.
• In Middle Ages, the isle became a Christian place of pilgrimage.
• During the 19^th and 20^th century, many artists came to the isle to be inspired by the nature, which resulted in some paintings of scenes around the isle.
• In 1936, Vilm became a nature protection site.
• From 1962 to 1990, the isle was used by the government of the German Democratic Republic to host guests.
• In 1990, the biosphere reserve Southeast-Ruegen was designated. Most parts of Vilm are covered by the core area of the biosphere reserve. In the same year, the INA was founded.
• Today, the INA organises up to 70 events and welcomes around 1,700 participants from all over the world per year.

I was happy and grateful to be one of those participants this year.
After the registration, everyone looked for their assigned house. Every house consists of several guestrooms. I was the only one at my floor because of the corona situation. After dinner, the meeting started. The programme began with an introduction, followed by a presentation about the involvement of youth and young adults in international conventions.
On Tuesday, Prof. Dr. Volker Mosbrugger gave the first presentation of the day. He mentioned some surveys and reports like the IPBES Global Assessment Report (GCE students directly reported from IPBES 7 where the report was adopted) which document the ongoing biodiversity crisis. The professor stressed that there is still much unknown in biodiversity and presented the “Research Initiative for the Conservation of Biodiversity” of the German federal ministry of education, which aims to close some of those knowledge gaps.
Afterwards, each participant of the meeting presented his or her current scientific project for 20 minutes, followed by ten minutes of discussion. The topics were wide-ranging and interdisciplinary but always with a reference to the CBD. I presented some of the results of my master´s thesis, “The accountability of biodiversity strategies at the level of the Convention on Biological Diversity, European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany,” which I had done at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ). Some topics that other participants dealt with included the wild harvesting of medicinal plants, agri-environmental policy in Bavaria, effectiveness of UNESCO biosphere reserves, environmental ethics, wild mammals in urban areas, sea use planning, and knowledge of species.

After lunch, Mrs. Stadler offered an isle tour. Because most parts of Vilm are covered by the core area of the biosphere reserve, there is only one path which leads around the northern part of the isle and guests must not leave it. Mrs. Stadler explained that animals like deer could migrate from the Island of Rugen to the Isle of Vilm (that is even smaller than one square kilometre) when the water is frozen in winter. However, the distance would be too long for smaller animals like squirrels. Our meeting host emphasised the enormous diversity of ecological conditions on that isle by giving the following example: Grapevine snails can be found on one side of the isle, but not on the other side. The reason is that one side of the isle has some lime that offers a favourable environment for the snails, whereas the other side is too acidic. I was impressed by all of the deadwood and old trees, which can rarely be found in German forests. However, the forest of Vilm cannot be considered a virgin forest in the strict sense because it was used by humans in the past. Mrs. Stadler showed us the oldest tree on the isle at roughly 600 years old. However, the tree is not alive anymore.

On Wednesday, the presentations continued.
On Thursday, the 5^th of August, 2021, the meeting came to an end. After breakfast, the ferry boat brought us back to the Island of Ruegen.
After the meeting, every participant was invited to submit a short text on his or her scientific project. Those contributions have been collected by the BfN and will be published in a BfN script soon.
I liked the meeting very much. The programme was dense and demonstrated the highly interdisciplinary subject of biodiversity with all its input. Besides the presentations, it was refreshing to talk to so many young and motivated people after a time of corona lockdowns. And, finally, it is worthwhile to visit the Isle of Vilm, with its fascinating history and nature. The Isle of Vilm is not just a place to talk about the conservation of nature – it is a place to show how nature develops if nature is allowed to be nature.

If you are interested to participate in one of the next meetings, regularly have a look on the homepage of the INA.

The post Talking about Biodiversity on an Isle full of History and Nature appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

During the spring of 2021, I participated in a science school organized by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN). Every year since 2010, the module has accepted 25 master-level students to learn at the International Academy for Nature Conservation on the Isle of Vilm in Germany. While this year was offered virtually, the experience remained worthwhile.

Broadening knowledge

Prior to the start of the course, students were expected to complete some background reading and an assignment to ensure that everyone had a good base of knowledge. From there, we hit the ground running! We began by assessing the current state of biodiversity and discussed both marine and terrestrial conservation. We learned about conservation tools like protected areas and about the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Students discussed how to engage in strategic conservation planning to meet goals most effectively and efficiently. We also spent some time addressing international law and the international governance framework for environmental protection, as well as discussing the social impacts of conservation.

Part of the reason that the seminar remained so engaging throughout the week was the mixed method of instruction, from lectures to panel discussions to interactive simulations. Generally, new topics were introduced with a talk from an invited expert. However, this was followed by group discussions and activities. This allowed students to actively engage with the material that had just been introduced. I found that this really made the information “stick,” while also creating connections among students.

Building a network

A strength of the module was the possibility to network. Lectures, panel discussions, and simulations run by conservation experts gave students a way to develop professional contacts for future internships, for example. Additionally, there were opportunities to interact with peers through “market place” activities, which closed each daily session. During these market place times, students shared short presentations outlining an experience they had with conservation. This took place in various breakout rooms, facilitating discussions in smaller groups.

The next Module on International Nature Conservation is expected to take place from 27 February to 5 March 2022, either online or in-person as the COVID-19 situation allows. If you are interested, then set a reminder – the upcoming application period will start in late autumn 2021.

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What did you like most about GCE?
The diversity of the courses offered was very valuable for me. I gained both methodological skills, like using remote sensing, as well as technical knowledge on climate change, biodiversity or ecosystem services. Also the chance to study with people from many different countries and backgrounds, although my year was not the most international, unfortunately.

How has your career continued after GCE?
After finishing the degree, I worked as a freelancer in several remote sensing projects focused on nature conservation. From 2017 to 2019, I was part of the Chair of Biogeography of the University of Bayreuth within the research project ECOPOTENTIAL, for which I mainly did coordination and communication work. Now, I am working for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

What is your current position? What are your tasks?
Currently, I work as a scientific officer at the International Academy for Nature Conservation of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. I design and organise different workshops on national and international scale about current topics in conservation. Having a strong background in communication from my Bachelor studies, I also do public relations work for the Academy.

How has GCE supported your career?
Given that my Bachelor degree was in Science Journalism, without studying GCE I most likely would not be where I am right now. I enjoy working on interdisciplinary topics, so the possibility to choose from diverse courses was a major reason for me to study GCE. The programme has provided me with a solid basis of expertise upon which I have built in my career.

What do you recommend to the current GCE students?
Think about what you want to gain from the study programme but also remain open to topics or courses you might not have considered in advance. You can learn about quite diverse topics, so it can be valuable to dip your toes into something new – and maybe discover a new interest.
Appreciate the chance to study in an environment with – hopefully – students from many different places and different experiences. Learning from each other is just as important as learning from lectures.
Take the opportunities you have to delve into topics you are passionate about and interested in. If you know where you want to work afterwards, think about how you will get there, and consider detours as the scenic route. If you do not know yet, that is completely normal. Work on the things you are interested in.
Be ambitious about your work, if that is important to you, but also keep in mind that assignments have a certain scope for a reason.
Don’t take all courses that are interesting in the first semester. Seriously, don’t. You have a third semester as well and as soon as assignments are due, you will regret it. I was involved in GCE for long enough to have seen this again and again. And again …

The post GCE Alumni (9): Scientific officer at the International Academy for Nature Conservation appeared first on Global Change Ecology.