Harry Jans (The Netherlands) 

High Alpines on the Equator in Ecuador and Peru

Harry Jans has been employed since 1982 by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment as an expert on Winter Maintenance. Beside this, he has been a passionate plant explorer and rock gardener for more than 40 years and is also a founder member of the Dutch Rock Garden Society of which he has been President for six years. In 2014, he received the prestigious Alpine Garden Society (AGS) Lyttel Trophy, the highest award for individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the knowledge of alpine plants.

Harry is a regular lecturer at conferences and study weekends in many countries throughout the world and has written many articles on various plant subjects. His own garden is well known for its tufa wall with a large colony of the rare and difficult Jancaea heldreichii growing on it. Harry has led and organized many botanical tours to various mountain ranges throughout the world. His website www.jansalpines.com contains more than 28.000 pictures, as he is also a keen photographer, taken during his travels around the globe in search of (alpine) plants.