ABOUT US
WHO ARE WE?
Our story
The Nature Restoration Fund is a non-governmental organisation passionate about protecting and restoring nature on the picturesque "Paramėlis Island" in southern Lithuania. This fund brings together people and organisations with a strong love of nature to raise funds and preserve the unique natural beauty of "Paramelis Island". A central concern of the fund is to acquire and protect valuable forests that are essential for wildlife. Threatened birds, wolves, bears and lynx roam freely here, while endangered bat species find their breeding grounds here.
Special attention is paid to the surrounding swamps, especially the swampy valley of the Katra River. The biodiversity in this valley is breathtaking, but it is also vulnerable and in urgent need of restoration and continuous care due to negative human impacts. By protecting and restoring the biodiversity of the "Paramelis Island" and its adjacent areas, the fund also makes a significant contribution to climate protection. The preservation of old forests and the restoration as well as maintenance of wetlands enable us to save thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions year after year and thus protect our climate.
The Foundation and its Board are transparent and open to the public, so you can find the minutes of the Board meetings and detailed reports on this website. If you have further questions, you can always contact one of the founders or a board member. The NRF was founded in Lithuania, but the team that manages it is international. We invite you to get to know the members of the NRF:
OUR TEAM
Meet the people behind the project
Marius Karlonas
Manager and main man of the project. Specialised in birdwatching.
Karile Klug
Educationalist and passionate nature lover.
Andreas Weber
Tour guide and idea generator. Expert in nature & species conservation.
Elisa Stoll
Responsible for marketing. Loves nature & wildlife watching.
Marius Karlonas, Co-Founder and CEO of the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF)
Marius was born and raised in Lithuania, and Southern Lithuania and its inexhaustible natural resources are his most beloved place on Earth. Marius dedicated his life to nature conservation and education, he is a well-known Lithuanian and Northern European ornithologist, nature guide, author of several ornithological books, he completed his master's studies in ecology at the Vytautas Magnus University. Marius also runs eco-tourism company UAB "Ornitostogos" also known as "Birding Lithuania Tours".
Marius discovered the "Island of Paramelis" while watching birds and immediately realized that it is a territory of unique nature that must be preserved for future generations.
Phone number:
+(370) 65120363
Email:
karlonas.marius@gmail.com
Elisa Stoll, Co-Founder of the NRF
Elisa Stoll was born and raised in the south of Germany. As the daughter of Rainer Stoll, pioneer of sustainable tourism in Germany, she learned about the world at an early age. Above all, the topic of species conservation is very close to her heart. As marketing manager at travel-to-nature and birdingtours, she would like above all to inspire other people to travel sustainably.
During a trip to Lithuania in 2021, she got to know Paramelis and immediately fell in love with the region.
Phone number: +(49) 7634 505518
Email: elisa@traveltonature.de
Andreas Weber, Co-Founder of the NRF
Andreas Weber, born in 1964, is a graduate forest engineer from Serrahn, Mecklenburg. He has been involved in nature conservation since the 1970s, specializing in ornithology and botany in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. As a self-employed nature guide and entrepreneur, he is known for his expertise and charming manner and sits on the board of the "Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns".