My Nonprofit Reviews

It was 2006 when I signed up for my Biosphere Expeditions trip – to the Peruvian Amazon. A six-hour-boatride away from the closest little town, separated from the noisy inhabitants of the jungle only by a mosquito-net, I felt – amazingly – just as at home as in a crowded big city. Or rather: even more. I was fascinated by the rainforest and I felt as if all my senses suddenly came to life. I felt ALIVE. Mosquitoes, poisonous snakes and spiders, scorpions, jaguars hiding in the dark heat – yes, please! Can I get some more?

My first jungle-encounter was followed by more trips to rainforests all around the world – to Peru again, then Ecuador, Madagascar, Costa Rica, Borneo, Australia, Bolivia. Sometimes I did volunteer work, other times I took photos of the amazing inhabitants of the forests. Exploring remote, primary rainforests became a sort of passion, and it led me to deeper questions too. How does time spent in nature, in wilderness, affect us psychologically? How can these experiences be transferred to our everyday lives? I turned to books on eco-psychology, attended workshops in deep ecology and wrote my master degree thesis with this question in mind (the title was: Facilitating Wilderness Solo Experiences for Greater Self-Awareness, Self-Actualization, Creativity and a Sense of Life-Direction)

My deepening interest led me to a one-year course in Experiential Education and Outdoor Training with a specialisation in Adventure- and Wilderness Therapy, and last year, with my trainer collegues we organised a two-week summer camp for kids in state care. It was one of the most challenging – and most rewarding – experiences of my life. It was amazing to see the changes in these boys during the time we spent in the forest – how they became more self-confident as they faced the challenges provided by nature, and how they became more open as we sat around the evening fire and told stories under the stars-filled sky. I hope I can take many more people – young and adult – to wild places and let them experience their life-changing effects. Just as my first Biosphere Expeditions journey changed my life too.