About

I was born july 16th 1988 in Duffel (province of Antwerp) and grew up in Grimbergen along the Brussels periphery. I attended primary school in Vilvoorde (Koningslo) and studied at the royal athenaeum of Grimbergen. My passion for paleontology started when I was 10 years old upon seeing the reproduced lithograph of a Lepidodendron bark with scale leaf bases in a book. Early field experiences in this period (2nd half of the 90'ies) included regular trips to spoil heaps (terrils) in the Borinage mining area (Dour, Elouges, Frammeries, Wasmes, and Quesmes) where I started my collection of upper-Carboniferous plant fossils. At age 14, I became member of the local geological society (Geologische Kring Grimbergen) where I was introduced to several other enthusiasts in paleontology, mineralogy and earth-sciences. At age 16 I was promoted as fieldtrip organiser and also became member of the Belgian Paleontological Association (Belgische Vereniging voor Paleontologie - BVP) where I regulary attended meetings and lectures in Wilrijk and the Antwerp area. Within the same year, I also co-organised my first temporary exhibit in the town of Zemst on the evolution of life during the European heritage days. The great response to this temporary exhibits, lead to the erection of two other exposition in the following years. I went on to study Geology at the University of Leuven and worked as  a job student for the Paleontology department at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural sciences (RBINS) for several years.