Burcu Meltem Arık
Burcu Meltem Arık was born and raised in Antakya until graduating from high school. She received her undergraduate degree from Middle East Technical University in Chemistry with an emphasis on industrial and environmental chemistry. At university, she became an active member of the birdwatching club and has been birdwatching ever since. Following graduation, she worked on environmental education with WWF Turkey, Nature Association (BirdLife Turkey), Sabanci University Education Reform Initiative, and UNEP. She led Turkey’s largest environmental NGO, TEMA’s Education Department (2011-2014). Today, she lectures at Bilgi University and runs an online course on “Ecological Literacy and Sustainability,” while preparing a course on biomimicry for the Fall of 2015 (with Prof. Lale Duruiz, former Rector of Bilgi University). Her blog is entitled My Nature Journal – Doğa Güncem. She is one of four authors of the forthcoming Training Kit on Sustainability for Young People of the Council of Europe.