Rabea Knauer

Rabea grew up in a small village in Germany, where she spent her childhood summers at a campground with her grandmother. Together with her sister, she explored the surrounding woodlands, watched beavers at the nearby lake, and fed the horses on site. These early experiences sparked a deep love for nature and compassion for animals.

Back in her village, however, there was little untouched nature left. Much of the land was used for agriculture, which led her to question the impact of intensive land use on native plant and animal species.

She later studied biology at Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (FAU), where she quickly realised that she wanted to pursue a career in ecology and conservation. For her thesis, she investigated whether or not wild bees and honey bees compete for resources. This project taught her a lot about fieldwork, data analysis, and scientific writing, which are all essential skills for an aspiring scientist.

Rabea chose Cape Town as her place of further study because of its immense biodiversity, something she feels is increasingly lacking in Germany. In the future, she hopes to contribute to ecosystem restoration in her home country and help protect the few remaining wild places in Europe.

With her dog, who she has brought all the way to Cape Town with her, she loves exploring the outdoors and going for long hikes. Additionally, she enjoys playing volleyball by the beach – or really anywhere – and loves making music, whether singing or playing the flute. The next instrument she wants to learn is the trumpet.