© Greenpeace/Jiri Rezac

I started with Greenpeace in 1996 as a volunteer diver. In my "life before Greenpeace" I was chief editor for a professional diving magazine and freelanced with a lot of different things. So I ended up with Greenpeace because of my work as a diver and editor, which changed my life a lot! Since 2000 I work in the action unit of Greenpeace Germany and in 2002 I became the team leader of the German boat drivers and carryout and develop the trainings.

Since 2000 I also organise whale watching expeditions to the Arctic, in my free time and not commercially.

This will be my third time in Antarctica, which means I’ve passed the Arctic circle six times and the Antarctic circle three times in the last two and a half years. As you see, the polar regions are my favourite areas! They are so beautiful, full of life and there are only a few people. In the summertime the sun shines for 24 hours. And of course, there you can see whales, for me, one of the most amazing and fascinating species on our planet: Huge, gentle, intelligent and highly social. They had been in the ocean a long time before we left our first traces on earth.

Of course the whales are the reason why I’m on board. People are fighting since more than 30 years to protect the biggest animals that have ever lived on earth. But they are still endangered, because the hunt is not at it’s end. That’s why we are here, to protect these great animals, to stop the madness of killing them in the name of science!

Such long trips are not only fun and adventure. The hunting season is a bloody business... During those times, I miss my boyfriend and my dogs mostly and also the pleasant life in my peaceful home.