Diego Portugal is from Peru and lives now in Berlin. He has more than four years of working experience in ecology conservation, including urban ecology. He currently works in Nature-based Solutions and Nature’s Contribution to People. Diego is cofounder of Ficus Peru and president of gaia liNc.
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Show Notes
00:00 – Intro
01:42 – The beginnings of the NGO Ficus Peru (Michael pronounced it poorly)
03:45 – The goals of Ficus
04:43 – Where did you learn some of the basics of human -environment interactions, where did you get this education?
07:55 – Keeping up with Ficus?
09:10 – gaia liNc, some background and why this organization was created
11:31 – What sort of projects would you like to leverage the multidisciplinary exerptise of gaia liNc for?
12:25 – Funding, how did you get it?
16:28 – Risk taking, presenting in unfamiliar languages, being in situations that you are technically unprepared for and just “going for it”.
18:42 – Do you have any key traits that you’ve identified in team members that have been super helpful along the way in your X2 NGO journey? Or if you had to start over again what traits would you look for when scouting for team members?
19:58 – WWF, what sort of projects are you working on for them? (report Nature Hires with WWF & ILO)
21:25—Has the structure of your work changed as a result of COVID-19
23:31—It seems like there needs to be a switch towards long-term thinking in order for people to get the full benefits of a healthy environment. Do you have any opinions on getting people as individuals or larger groups to think long term about the environment?
27:00 – I like your leadership style, you are competitive and ambitious without being a dick and you seem to be a good listener. How did you achieve this balance?
34:20 – Brain picking time, how does Diego network so well?
37:05 – How to be a good teammate at KFC and how to get employee of the month!
40:46—a lifechanging trip to a wildlife reserve in South Africa
44:40 – Getting fired from a wonderful job in the amazon
Personality questions
46:25 – Name an individual that you admire and tell us why this person inspires you
49:39 – what is an unusual habit that you have or a strange thing that you love?
52:31 – Stolen from reddit: you need to hide a paperclip anywhere in your apartment, a police investigator has 24 hours to search for it. Where are you going to hide this object?
55:48 – could you name one investment of time, money or effort into something that really paid off for you later on?
58:39 – What is one thing that you miss about Peru that you can’t find in Europe?
1:01:41—If I gave you 500 euros right now, what would you do with it?
1:03:00 – Where can people go to learn about any of the NGOs that you’re involved in or to get in contact with you?
Diego Portugal is from Peru and lives now in Berlin. He has more than four years of working experience in ecology conservation, including urban ecology. He currently works in Nature-based Solutions and Nature’s Contribution to People. Diego is cofounder of Ficus Peru and president of gaia liNc.
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