Past events

Science Saving Elephants – A lecture by Antoinette van de Water Ever wondered what life is like as a conservationist? If you are, you are not alone! Almost one hundred participants joined FFN Academy for an inspiring lecture by Antoinette van de Water. This ‘Heldin van de Wildernis’ just came back from Thailand and was kind enough to step by in Utrecht to tell us all about her volunteer work in an elephant sanctuary and about her life-long mission to…

Appetite for Destruction: Palm oil diaries Together with Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) FFN Academy organized three interactive evenings on palm oil to create awareness and help kick-off the campaign ‘Draw the line’ from MilieuDefensie. In Utrecht, Wageningen and Amsterdam the documentary Appetite for Destruction was broadcasted. It showed us the devastating consequences of the palm oil industry both for the forest and its inhabitants. A video message from Alexandra Vosmear and Dirk-Jan Oudshoorn, recorded especially for this occasion…

Killed in Battle – War on Minerals On Tuesday September 12th (2017) the Future For Nature Academy & study association LaarX presented the documentary ‘War on Minerals’ and Q&A with documentary maker Jacco Groen. In 2012, 147 nature conservationist from all over the world were murdered. One of them was a Dutchman: Willem Geertman. The documentary ‘War on Minerals’ tells his story. In the movie, Jacco Groen investigates how the murder exactly could have taken place. Furthermore he dives into…

Innovation in Conservation Fundamental science as a basis for sustainable conservation What do you do when you are an established ecological organization who organizes a symposium and you want to reach more students? Collaborate with the Future For Nature Academy! Together with NERN, the Future For Nature Academy organized the symposium “Innovation in Conservation – Fundamental science as a basis for sustainable conservation” in Lunteren on the 29th of November 2017. A unique chance for FFN Academy members and followers…

Valuation of Natural Systems and Rehabilitating Landscapes A Workshop and Lecture by John D. Liu – 5 October 2017 Would it be possible to create a viable currency based on ecosystem function that would remove the current incentive to degrade natural systems and replace it with an incentive to conserve all remaining functional systems and regenerate all degraded landscapes? This was the main topic of the workshop given by John D. Liu. The workshop was attended by 20 people with…

“Underhogs” & “Chimpions” An interactive documentary evening featuring the “underhogs” and “chimpions” in animal research and nature conservation. On the 19th of September 2017, an interactive documentary evening was organized at the lovely location ‘THUIS’ in Wageningen with around 40-50 attendees. The evening was all about chimpanzees, who are often called “chimpions” in animal research and nature conservation, as they are a frequently studied primate species. On the other hand, the evening focused on the “underhogs” too, referring to the…

Unconventional collaborations and Marine Conservation On 21 February 2017 we were fortunate to present Wietse van der Werf at a FFN Academy lecture in Utrecht. Wietse is founder of the Black Fish and won an FFN Award in 2016 for his efforts to counter illegal fisheries in the European seas. The alarming rate of illegal fisheries and lack of legal enforcement to protect marine resources now demands conservation to take an innovative approach. Accordingly, Wietse is ‘changing the game of…

Fighting for the Leuser Ecosystem A lecture by FFN laureate Farwiza Farhan – 21 June 2017 If protecting one of the most precious ecosystems in the world is your daily work, you probably have a lot of interesting things to tell. Indeed, during her interactive lecture in Amsterdam, Farwiza Farhan showed us how complex her work is, but even more how important it is to conserve the last place on earth where rhinos, tigers, bears, orangutans and elephants roam together….