It was 30 degrees when I went for a job interview at Waardenburg Ecology in 2007. I was looking for a job for the first time after my studies in Wageningen and I wanted to look good. When I arrived, everyone was wearing shorts. ‘I’m going to feel at home here’, I thought.

I am specialized in fresh water with a lot of field knowledge and experience. In the team I am the doer, think of aquatic research and sampling. Especially in the summer period I can be found outside a lot, from sonar research in the tiny canals of Delft to a round of the Wadden Sea or jellyfish research in Zeeland. Wonderful. I am also a drone pilot and I capture the special projects of Waardenburg Ecology.

The freedom and versatility. If you stick to the agreements, you can organize a working day in your own way; I find that freedom very valuable. In addition, there is a lot of variety, which suits me. I don't like to perform in-depth analyses or make reports and that is not necessary. I am given the space to strengthen what I am good at.

When I first started working there, Waardenburg Ecology was still a small family business, we had to do everything ourselves: bringing in jobs, reporting. I think it is a good development that the organization is and is becoming bigger; you can let people do things that they are good at and want to develop in.

Despite the growth, the atmosphere remains familiar. Thanks to the flat organizational structure, you can easily walk in to everyone, it is very friendly. The turnover is also incredibly low. That is a great compliment to the company, people don't want to leave.

If you like freedom, variety and challenge and you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, then this is a great place to learn a lot and work on what is more or less the most important thing: protecting and restoring nature. We are nature.