Hi there! My name is María Braeuner (she/her)
I wear many hats and I’m passionate about every one of them. Could sum it up in Professional Nerd and Incurable Generalist. I’m a Guatemalan biologist, photographer, illustrator, and science communicator, currently based in Germany and on a mission to make science beautiful and entertaining.
I am convinced that if everybody knew how mind-blowing all life on Earth is, from the tiniest cyanobacteria to the common brown bird in your window, conservation would be inevitable. And that’s why I do what I do.
“People protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they are taught”
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Science Communication
Science captivated me since I was little and my parents surrounded me with science experiments, books, & video games. Throughout my Bachelor’s degree, I constantly had this desperate feeling that the world should know about all these new wondrous mind-blowing things I was learning about. Halfway through my Master’s studies, I found the world of SciComm, and a new passion was born.
A whole new world opened up: human behavior, psychology, history, marketing. SciComm offered me a way to not only learn new things but to channel all the other things I already enjoyed doing (like writing, art, and, funnily enough, statistics) and put them to work towards conservation and science.
“When you’re in love, you want to tell the world”
Carl Sagan
So how did I get here?
My academic background is in biology and limnology. Back in Guatemala, I took part in a myriad of wildlife monitoring projects as a student, volunteer, and later as an environmental consultant. Later, life & science took me to the Ecuadorian Amazon, Galápagos, Kenya, Austria, & Germany – where I’m now established.
But something was always missing. I didn’t feel things were moving anywhere. I felt stuck.
Conservation science often makes me feel small. It’s such a titanic mission, and it will never be a one-person job. It is not even an “only scientists” job. We need everybody on board, and it cannot wait – not even for science.
So although science matters for well-informed decision-making, communication has to go alongside it ALL THE TIME. This is still a weakness in academia, but things seem to be changing and I’m excited to be a part of this.
Science is a long and slow process; to communicate it to the right people in the right way to achieve our goals is not easy. Through braeuNERD I want to contribute and help conserve our natural resources and inspire a culture of curiosity about Nature through visual and strategic communication.
“Nothing in science has any value to society if it is not communicated”
Anne Roe
Although my services are tailored for a specific group of scientists, my illustrations and blog posts are meant for all you sci-curious people that always find joy in learning something new! Through braeuNERD I share the answers to questions of the natural world around us, I want to bring nature and wildlife closer to you, so maybe you can also fall in love with this fantastic world we live in and we can protect it together! Science continues to blow my mind every day. I hope I can get you excited about it too!
“When one person, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself”
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Disclaimer
Content on www.braeunerd.com is for general informational and entertainment purposes. The content of this site should not be considered a scientific source or reference. The content of the blog is of my own personal interest and often personal opinions and does not represent the views or opinions of any educational institutions or organizations that I’m a part of or work with. The information I blog about may change over time (#science).
All photographs in the webpage are taken by me (unless stated otherwise). All photographs are taken in their natural habitat; a few exceptions from Wildlife Rescue Centers or scientific projects. No animals have been harmed for making any of the pictures; most have been subjects of study during field trips/workshops/jobs; no wildlife handling “just for fun” or for the pictures’ sake (#bioethics).
Most photographs on the About Me page ©Christian Witt