Wilderness International Germany

Wild nature is a source of inspiration for me and I feel at home there. Next to a huge tree in the old-growth forest, on the foggy riverbank or sitting on a mountain - nature helps to recharge my batteries and to experience small and big wonders. In the last 20 years I have seen whole forest landscapes disappear, cities and roads have covered lakes and valleys. Pristine nature is becoming rarer by the year - at a frightening rate that compels action. I love nature and, as part of Wilderness International, I want to fight to ensure that our Earth will continue to be one thing: Wild and beautiful.

I never thought I would end up in conservation. Actually, I've always been interested in other, more social issues. But no one can convince you to protect the environment as much as nature itself. Standing under a giant tree and feeling its age, seeing whales and hearing wolves howl. I cannot and will not imagine a world without that. And so, since the first time I went to the wilderness as a high school student with WI, I've stuck with it. I organized an exchange with the Gwich'in in the West Arctic and lived north of the Arctic Circle for five months to do it. After that, I studied intercultural communication. In Team Communication I can combine both passions and share the beauty of wilderness with others.

Sustainable change only happens from the bottom up and out of personal conviction. I believe in that. That's what motivated me to join WI in Dresden as a volunteer 10 years ago. Making nature conservation a tangible experience for everyone and even motivating entire companies to do so has excited me since my early years at WI. I started with networking and accompanying projects with pupils. The course of my illness has given me additional time for reflection. Since my disability, I can invest the time available to me in a focused manner in my tasks. With transparency. With fun. With WI.

Since my school days in Meissen, many people have known me as the "social noodle", because I have always loved to stand up for my environment and my fellow human beings. This social streak, coupled with an irrepressible curiosity, led me to travel the world and get to know it better. 

I studied viticulture and noticed the serious problems facing agriculture, particularly through internships abroad in New Zealand, South Africa, France, Spain and Chile. The need to change this global exploitation of people and nature in agricultural supply chains then led me to pursue an in-depth Master's degree, which gave me the tools to understand, analyze and ultimately break through these structures. In my own scientific work, I have also dealt intensively with the topics of "carbon footprint", "processes in the Rights of Nature movement" and "philosophy of science". WI gives me the opportunity to reconcile all these interests! 

I also have a 5-year-old daughter and a Chilean partner, I love the outdoors, wine, science talks and trying out new things - true to the motto "seeking discomfort".

Tino Kreßner is a crowdfunding pioneer in Germany and co-founder of the crowdfunding platform Startnext.com. In doing so, he advocates for a participatory and transparent allocation of capital to promote sustainable and creative ideas. With Finlane GmbH, he operates parallel crowdfunding technology to promote non-profit projects together with banks. As a founding member of the Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland (SEND), he shapes better framework conditions for companies that focus on their impact rather than profit maximization. 

Together with the Wilderness International Foundation, Tino Kreßner initiated the largest private tree planting campaign in Germany and today protects the last intact ecosystems on our planet. 

I am delighted to be able to facilitate donation processes and clear data analyses at WI. I originally studied business mathematics and then at some point fell in love with wine. So I studied viticulture and spent almost 10 years traveling around the world as a traveling winemaker. In addition to WI, I deliver packaging-free wine in Berlin, like to go to punk concerts, do sports and am responsible for vine care and wine production in the Kreuzberg vineyard. If you want to play table tennis or skat in the evening, or philosophize about wine and food, you've come to the right place.

The forest has always been my favorite place, Ronja Räubertochter the heroine of my childhood, and to this day you can often find me roaming the woods.
In my job, I've spent the last 20 years in the marketing sector, working in agencies on campaigns for technology, automotive, fashion and food & beverage brands. Since 2010 I have also been supporting the communications team of Google / YouTube e.g. in the conception and design of media partnerships, corporate cases or CSR projects with creators, sponsors, NGOs and public institutions/politics. The experience of how much power good projects develop through real passion and multi-layered collaborations is my incentive to develop exactly such partnerships with the WI team. And of course, it makes me super proud to be able to spend some of my time actively helping to preserve rainforests - not only for robber daughters...

Before coming to WI as a volunteer, I worked as a software engineer for five years. A good friend, who always inspires me to take on new challenges and experiences, turned me on to WI. At WI, I want to dedicate my time, energy, and youth to protecting the wild places of this earth. I will use my work experience mainly for improvements in the organization and cooperation in the IT sector, but I will also help where I can.