I could say that Bryology has been my passion since I was a child, but it was not exactly like that. I was born in Albacete, south-east Spain in 1986. I loved nature and going to the forest, but I must admit that there was not a scientific reason behind this pleasure. I don’t remember…
I grew up in the Netherlands in a plant-loving environment, on a flower nursery (no, no tulips). This early exposure may have sparked my interest in botany and ecology, making me decide to study biology from an early age. I eventually did this at the University of Wageningen and never regretted it. Bryophytes explicitly came…
I grew up in a relatively small village in the western part of the Madrid mountains (Spain) where I lived with my parents and my brother. From a young age, I enjoyed spending time outdoors. I remember spending entire afternoons in the garden and going on field trips almost every weekend with my parents, who…
I was born in 1944. As a three-month-old baby I “witnessed” the landing of airborne troops near Arnhem. Our region was then evacuated. When return was allowed in 1945 the village was ruined, plundered, vandalized and many houses were burned down. My parents lost most of their biological books and collections (both were biologist and…
I grew up in Rotterdam, a large modern city and industrial area in the Netherlands. Luckily, I lived near some parks and lakes so I could escape into green areas most of the time, and I would also often venture into nature areas further afield, particularly with my father, who had studied biology. When I…