For me, programming started out as a high school hobby, but is now one of my most important scientific skills. I develop individual-based models in order to inform conservation action and policy. This requires not only careful scientific working, but also best-practice software engineering in order to ensure the reliability of the results. I have learnt a lot from computer scientists and other environmental modelling disciplines, and want to use my technical expertise to help other ecological modellers build better software.

As a Christian, I do my work as a conservation biologist because I believe we have a God-given mandate to be good stewards of creation. Conservation biology is a strongly values-driven discipline (cf. Soulé, 1985) that does not only seek to study nature, but to effect societal changes to protect it. Therefore, it is vital for conservation biologists to think about what their values are, what these are based on, and which consequences arise from them. Additionally, we need to learn to engage with people of other world-views and value systems, especially people outside the “environmental movement”. My Christian faith provides the necessary ethical basis for my scientific work, and simultaneously offers me a bridge to communicate scientific results to audiences who may be sceptical of scientists who do not share their worldview and values.