Biography
irko Blinn has been an active member of FOSSGIS e.V. since 2017, where he is committed to promoting the use of Free and Open Source Software.
He works as a research associate at the Biological Station Kreis Wesel and Krefeld e.V. in Krefeld. His main focus is providing GIS support for the approximately 40 Biological Stations in North Rhine-Westphalia. These stations are non-profit, regional organizations dedicated to the conservation of valuable nature reserves and the protection of endangered species.
A particular focus of his work is the advancement of FOSS solutions in nature conservation and species protection. He is currently developing a system based on QGIS, QField, and PostGIS to record, collect, and process species occurrence data for plants and animals. This system integrates various data sources, ranging from traditional field surveys to contributions from citizen science projects.
In addition to his work at the Biological Stations, he is pursuing a PhD at the University of Bonn. His research explores the use of land-use models based on open software to identify opportunities for sustainable urban and rural development in the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11. He has presented parts of this work at conferences, including FOSS4G 2022 in Florence.
