Esmerialda Klaassen
Esmerialda Suzetta Klaassen was born on 3 April 1973 in Windhoek, Namibia. She completed her high schooling in 1991. Family vacations were usually characterised by camping and the outdoors inspired her love for nature. In 1992 she enrolled for the National Diploma in Nature Conservation at the Polytechnic of Namibia (formerly Technikon of Namibia); she completed the 3-year course in 1994. As part of the course, she spent six months as an in-service trainee at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI). In January 1995 she assumed duty as Agricultural Research Technician at the NBRI. She was responsible for encoding herbarium specimens onto the BRAHMS database—the herbarium specimens were packed in boxes at that stage! In 1996 she served as an assistant to the Database Manager. In 1997 she was appointed as Database Manager, a position she still holds at the Institute.
Esmerialda has been involved in the SABONET Project since its inception. In 1996 she attended the first SABONET Herbarium Management course, which included a section on the introduction to the PRECIS Specimen Database. She has attended the following SABONET courses: Herbarium Management and Plant Conservation course, Pteridophyte and Nomenclature course, Aquatic Plants course, as well the Beginners and Advanced Database courses. She also served as demonstrator on the Database Courses for Beginners in 1999 and 2000. Currently she also serves as secretary to the National SABONET Working Group (Namibia).
In 1999, Esmerialda was promoted to Senior Agricultural Research Technician. Her duties include database management and herbarium management of the families Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, pteridophytes, and aquatic plants, all related to the courses she attended.
In 1998, she was granted a scholarship by SABONET to upgrade her current qualification to the B.Tech. Degree in Nature Conservation. Owing to an extended curriculum, she will be completing her studies at the end of 2002.
Achievements in her career include the publication Water plants of Namibia: an identification manual, which she coauthored with Dr Nicholas Clarke. She is currently working on a Poaceae checklist as a SABONET output.
Esmerialda strives to develop her skills and knowledge in her fields of responsibility to serve the end-users of the Institute to the best of her abilities. As Database Manager, in particular, she would like to see this valuable source of information put to use in the conservation of the flora of Namibia.
Esmerialda is hardworking and committed and her motto of completing whatever you’ve started is being put to the test by all her responsibilities within her working environment and SABONET. She believes that exercise is the best medicine to revitalise body, mind, and soul. Extramural activities include involvement in inter-denominational activities and events organised by other community organisations, for example fun days for the handicapped.
She is part of a very dynamic team at the NBRI and is grateful for the support and encouragement of her colleagues, especially the head of the Institute, Dr Magss-Kölling, as well colleagues within the SABONET Project.
SABONET News 7.1: 5
