EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
BECOMING A COORDINATOR OF A NATURE-BASED LANDSCAPE ORGANISATION
Are your students interested in forestry and nature conservation? Do they love outdoor activities such as planting trees? Do they dream of working in ecological restoration? Let me tell you that their dream job exists! They could become Coordinators of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation. This job consists of initiating and coordinating projects focusing on ecological restoration, such as greening playgrounds and public spaces, using nature-based solutions for restoring river valleys, and restoring ponds. Coordinators of Nature-Based Landscape Organisation are enthusiastic people, with a big passion for nature and strong diplomatic skills. Meet Bas Van der Veken, a Coordinator of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation.
SKILLS
Find out about the key skills to become a Coordinator of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation.
Curiosity
To be a great Coordinator of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation, curiosity is a key skill. “It’s necessary to understand how the planet works, how people think, and combine both to find solutions to current problems.”
Empathy
Coordinators of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation spend most of their days liaising and collaborating with many people from different fields. Therefore, being emphatic with their needs to find a solution that fits both environmentally and socially is essential.
Diplomacy
When working and communicating with a diverse variety of people from different backgrounds, diplomacy is a required skill. “You need to talk to stakeholders, farmers, nature conservationists, etc., to find solutions to environmental problems.”
Administrative Skills
Not only Coordinators of Nature-Based Landscape Organisation spend their days in the field or meetings but also do they deal with projects’ budgets. Being knowledgeable in administration and finances will help you carry out your tasks.
Leadership
Managing a big team requires leadership skills. Your team needs your support and leadership when launching new projects and encountering unexpected problems. Nurturing healthy relationships with your colleagues will assure the future of the organisations’ projects.
Flexibility
Coordinators of Nature-Landscape Organisations are people with strong flexibility and adaptability skills. Your daily tasks will range from local activities such as planting trees, to convincing stakeholders and dealing with budgets.
Curious to
know more?
Meet Bas Van der Veken, a Coordinator of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation
Bas Van der Veken holds a master in bio-engineering from the KULeuven University, Belgium. For his PhD research, he investigated the relation between climate change and ranges of forest plant species throughout Europe. Since 2009, he leads the NGO Regional Landscape Kleine and Grote Nete that works on improving nature and landscape quality in the region together with partners from governments, agriculture, nature conservation, tourism, heritage, etc. Since 2020 he is also the president of the 16 regional landscapes in Flanders, Belgium. Besides, during his free time as a volunteer, he is one of the managers of nature reserve Landschap De Liereman in northern Belgium.
In this 17th episode of our STE(A)M IT STEM Careers Podcast, Rocío Benito from European Schoolnet spoke with Bas Van der Veken, a Coordinator of a Nature-Based Landscape Organisation.
Bas Van der Veken has always been passionate about all living things and used to walk through the forest with his parents and their dog when he was a child. During the podcast interview, he talks about what a typical working day looks like, and what inspired him to follow this career path. Listen to it to discover more about his passionate and interesting job!
CC BY 4.0: all the materials and content presented on this STEM Job profile have been co-created by STE(A)M IT, a project funded by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme project STE(A)M IT (Grant agreement 612845-EPP-1-2019-1- BE-EPPKA3-PI-FORWARD), in collaboration with the Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) phase 2, a pilot project initiated and funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. European Schoolnet (EUN) oversees the interviewing and creating of the NBS Career Sheets, with the support of VO EUROPE.
