“My name is Willi Lehnert and I studied “Landscape Management and Nature Conservation” (BSc) and Management in “Organic Agriculture” (MSc) (from WS 2021/2022 MSc “Organic Farming and Food Systems”) at the HNEE. For me, studying at the HNEE was great as I could build up personal relationships to the other students and teaching staff. I still benefit from these relationships and am pleased whenever I bump into someone I know! The practical approaches and close contact to the teaching staff has left me with good memories of the HNEE.
When I started working, I realised how many opportunities were open to me thanks to my study programme. I had already been involved in federal politics in the state of Brandenburg during my studies, and could contribute my knowledge of nature protection and agriculture. After that, I took on projects at the university. But I wasn’t finished with politics just yet. Together with young organic farmers from the HNEE and the free Demeter apprenticeship, I set up the Alliance for Young Farmers (Bündnis Junge Landwirtschaft). Through actions and a campaign, we called for improved access to agricultural land for young farmers. And we have been quite successful. We have built up a network of young agricultural holdings in Brandenburg which advise each other and are politically active, e.g. in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). I maintain an overview and coordinate the network. I did this on a voluntary basis for several years, but I have been employed by the association Bündnis Junge Landwirtschaft e.V. since 2018 and try to encourage cooperation between land owners and young farmers, for example. I spend a lot of time travelling around Brandenburg and meet people with ideas for starting a company or holding and people who might be able to make this possible. Piecing together the requisites for this and the individual opportunities available, and then support these people is a fascinating task. I also spend a lot of time in the office, writing, talking on the phone, researching and improving my knowledge. In addition, the members of the association also agree on issue papers, position papers and statements.
In my studies, I learned how project work functions (there is a deadline, it must be finished by then!), to collaborate in groups made up of different people from different backgrounds and acquired my acquiring subject knowledge – all of which play a role in my daily work. I am confronted with such situations every now and again, it was good to have learned these skills at an early stage.
For me, sustainability plays a central role. In the content of our work: Promoting organic agriculture, supporting people who want to live and work on the land and therefore contributing to local value creation and regional development. But also in the way we structure our work: The project I work in is pioneering. We build up structures, e.g. for networking different players, which otherwise to not exist in Brandenburg and these should be consolidated in the long term to increase our sustainable impact. That is our goal!
I would advise students who want to get involved in this field to try out association work and find out if they are suited to it. Voluntary work with a political connection is always good. This enables you to build up a personal network. There are many opportunities, subject-specific working sessions from institutes, NGOs and political parties, meetings of regional groups who are active in a cause. People are always delighted when young people want to get involved, so give it a go!”