Award-winning photo by Andi Eich (British Ecological Society Photo Competition, People and Nature Catagory Winner: A New Plastic Home, 2022)
About us
We are a dedicated team of environmental scientists and technicians. Our roots are in marine biology, where we started more than three decades ago, ultimately with our own marine field station combining research, teaching, exploration and underwater videography. Since then, we have worked all over the world for various scientific projects and research missions and are connected to a large network of partners, including our colleagues for freshwater research at the independent HYDRA Institute for Applied Hydrobiology in Konstanz, Germany.
At HYDRA, we are committed to making a difference, whether that means developing and applying new methods or venturing into the unknown. The fate of plastics in the environment and in particular the biodegradation of biodegradable materials has been in our focus since the early 2000s and is still fueling our ambition to contribute to solutions through research. For the last 15 years HYDRA has been leading research on the biodegradation of plastic in the open environment with focus on the aquatic ecosystem, and beyond.
Communication is a powerful tool. Decades of teaching and our long-standing involvement in international television documentaries on natural history and environmental issues enable us to convey complex topics to non-specialists.
From simple bucket science to cutting-edge technology in collaboration with world-renowned institutes, we combine all available methods to achieve our goals. We are not only mediators between scientific fields, but also provide the link to technology, business, society, politics and nature conservation. Over the decades, we have learned several “languages” and use them to bridge the gap between different stakeholders, actors and disciplines.
We firmly believe that scientific progress should be used for the benefit of nature and humanity, that decisions should be based on proven facts whenever possible and that science-based solutions, coupled with respect and open-mindedness, can lead the way to a truly sustainable future.
This is the catalyst for a common effort to find solutions, for innovation, for creative, productive and positive cooperation.