New biodiversity manager“As a university, we want to play a leading role in sustainable development”

13 March 2025, by Claudia Sewig

Photo: University of Hamburg / Esfandiari

The University of Hamburg’s new biodiversity manager, Charlie Pittkow, in front of the Tiny House on the Von-Melle-Park Campus

On 15 January 2025, Charlie Pittelkow succeeded Myriam Rapior as the University of Hamburg’s biodiversity manager. She is based in the University’s Sustainability Office. Here, we ask her 3 questions about her goals and concrete projects.

Why is biodiversity such an important topic for the University of Hamburg?

As the University of Hamburg, we don’t just include sustainability in our guiding principle “Innovating and Cooperation for a Sustainable Future in a Digital Age.” We also, as a university, want to play a leading role in sustainable development, for example, to contribute to the transformation to a climate-neutral society.

While sustainability is already a widespread topic, biodiversity still exists in the shadows a bit, which is a pity and critical because species diversity and ecosystems form the basis of our existence, our society, our economy, and our fight against climate change. At the moment, we are losing species and ecosystems faster and faster. We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. As a university, we are in a position to research, to support student projects in this area, to inform the public.

How did you come to be interested in this issue?

I studied peace research and sustainable development and I always took more of a political and management perspective on sustainability and biodiversity. But because the campus of the university where I did my master’s, the University for Peace (UPEACE) was located in the rain forest of Costa Rica, I also had a very practical connection to local biodiversity projects. Because the issue of sustainability is widely known, I wanted greater focus after my studies. And for me, biodiversity was the logical decision. It is the foundation on which everything else is built.

What concrete projects do you want to tackle at the University of Hamburg?

I took over several projects from my predecessor Myriam Rapior. The largest and most important is a greening project on the Von-Melle-Park Campus. We are transforming almost 900 square meters into a wildflower meadow. We will sow and plant native wild perennials and native wild flower species. We specifically chose plants that nourish bees, butterflies, and caterpillars. This meadow should blossom from spring to fall and, overall, fortify the ecosystem because insects are, of course, not just important for pollinating plants but also as a source of nutrition for many types of birds and bats.

We are also working on a visibility project: we want to create an educational path with informative signs on the Von-Melle-Park Campus. We already have so many great initiatives at the University, from the working groups, students, AStA, the Green Office, and the Sustainability Office that the path should make visible, for the University members and for the public. At the same time, I am working on, among other things, a website for biodiversity at the University and am preparing for the biodiversity working group to take part on Biodiversity Day on 22 May at the Loki Schmidt Garden in Klein Flottbek.