Alumnus testimonial
Jonna - Conservation Policy Advisor & Tour Guide
Jonna specialised on two very different topics during her master’s Forest and Nature Conservation. She focussed on tropical forestry and ecology, and marine biology. After graduation she also managed to get two jobs: as a bird conservation policy advisor and as a professional tour guide.
At the age of 16 I went to the tropical rainforest of Peru, where my interest in ecology aroused.
How did you find a job so quickly after graduation?
“After finishing both my theses I learned a lot about doing research, but less about how to put nature conservation in practice. To gain experience in this field I did an internship at Vogelbescherming Nederland, the Dutch partner of Birdlife International. Several months after graduating Vogelbescherming Nederland offered me a job as temporary project assistant. Nowadays I am still working for the organisation as a conservation policy advisor.”
What do you do as conservation policy advisor?
“I work on the protection of marine and coastal birds. Currently I spend most of my time on a big project in the Wadden Sea, the largest nature area of the Netherlands. In this project we work together with five other nature organisations. Together we want to improve the breeding and resting situation for birds and stimulate sustainable tourism at the same time.”
Your second job is entirely about tourism. Could you tell us something about it?
“Besides my job at Vogelbescherming Nederland I also work as a professional tour guide at SNP. This is a Dutch travel organisation that organizes green and active holidays. My study in forest and nature conservation provides a valuable background for guiding trips in nature."
Is it hard to have two jobs?
“For me the combination between my job at Vogelbescherming Nederland and SNP is ideal. I like the professional content of my Vogelbescherming job and the travelling for SNP.”