Sven was born in Kamen, Germany, but spent most of his childhood summers in his grandmother’s birthplace, Sondershausen. Nested between two ancient forests and guarded by a castle, it was there that he discovered his passion for nature, as well as for the fantastic.

“If it weren’t for grandma, who kept dragging a young and ignorant boy away from the TV, out into the woods and ancient places, I would have lived a very different life.”

Ranger. Student. Researcher. Educator. Mariner. Geek. Consultant. And now, author. Since his early days, Sven has lived many lives. The red thread, that kept all of these experiences connected, was his growing understanding of what extinction truly means.

“There is this species of marine mammal called the Vaquita, that roams the Baja California. We have about 10 individuals left. If they die, nothing within our current capabilities as a human species could ever bring them back. These extinctions happen every single moment in time. We remove a piece of the complex puzzle that makes up our biosphere each day, not knowing when the entire picture will crumble.”