Lila van Grieken

I am Lila van Grieken, a visual anthropologist specialized in ecology and nature conservation. I find my passion in creating a good story through care and sincerity. I am currently building a foundation for the documentary initiative I started with friends, taking on further training in communication and organization, andteaching myself to identify all (plant, insect, mammal) species (roughly).

When I hear someone is even remotely interested in anthropology, I start selling the program hard. I am in love with anthropology, and I am not afraid to show my affection. Anthropologists tackle large societal problems, while grounding their work in care-ful fieldwork. So, even though the discussion can become quite theoretical, there is always someone’s daily experience we need to bring it back to. It makes anthropology a warm science. And, fieldwork teaches you practical people-skills useful everywhere else.

I found my passion in ecological anthropology, I get excited from a neat planning, and love to meet new people. I did my bachelor and master at Leiden University, with two minors in city planning and forest and nature conservation. I won the Speckmann Award working with three peers on a fieldwork project with au pairs, and produced a 30-minute ethnographic film with accompanying thesis for the master visual ethnography.  

My favourite bird is the cormorant, I thoroughly enjoy making music playlists, I was born in Lent (Nijmegen), I like looking at colour combinations, I have counted 15 goldfinches on the sunflowers in my garden, I love editing video’s, I love making theater, I love/hate making my own clothes, and my favourite dish is frijoles.

Current Read:
   The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Favourite Books:
   The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
   Howl’s Moving Castle, Dianna Wynne Jones
   De Kinderen van Moeder Aarde, Thea Beckmann

Blog Posts:
Recipes
Theater Portfolio
Nature Facts
Boardgames

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