Alfred Toepfer Scholarships

Each year the EUROPARC Federation in cooperation with the Alfred Toepfer Foundation F.V.S. awards three Alfred Toepfer Natural Heritage Scholarships to promising young conservationists with practical experience in the field of conservation and in the work of protected areas.

By supporting the participants financially the scholarships enable them to undertake a study visit to one or more protected areas in European countries other than their own. The aim being to enhance international cooperation and to advance the quality, innovation and European dimension of protected area management. The awards will each be worth EUR 3.000 and are generously donated by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg (D). They are presented to the scholarship winners each year at the annual EUROPARC conference.

Astounding resonance for 2010 scholarships

This year we received a large number of submissions for the scholarships. 17 applications from 13 countries were submitted and we were overwhelmed by the series of different topics that were covered. Applicants wished to undertake study tours about climate change, rural development, transboundary cooperation, sustainable tourism and integrated management and much more. We wish to thank all applicants for their efforts and great applications. The choice for the assessment team and the EUROPARC Council members was not an easy one.  The three winners will be informed by Email during this week and will be announced officially at the EUROPARC conference 2010.

Alfred Topfer Scholarships 2009

In 2009 the scholarships were awarded to Saira Sheldrake (UK), who will develop a tool to predict disturbance distances of the recreational sport of Kite-surfing on wintering and wading birds in protected areas with coastlines. Naomi Scuffil (UK) will visit the national parks in Germany and report back to us about the management of areas without human impact, so called “non-interventional-management-zones” and conflict management between species protection and landowners. Urszula Biereznoj (PL) will visit protected areas and environmental institutions in United Kingdom, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, to exchange knowledge, experiences and best practices of biodiversity conservation and Natura2000 management.

As the prize giving was at the EUROPARC conference in Sweden the three winners had the opportunity to attend the event and meet and talk to many practitioners in the field of protected area management. Comments from two of the winners highlight the success of the event:

“Thank you so much for organising everything and making our stay so fantastic! I feel really energised now with the direction I want to go in life – just needed a little help realising this!”, Saira Sheldrake

“I had a lovely time at the conference and it was good to meet so many interesting people”, Naomi Scuffil

For more information about the scholarships please contact Cornelia Ehlers