ABOUT US UNLOCK NATURE SURINAME
At Unlock Nature, we’re more than just a team, we’re a community of wildlife lovers, nature explorers, and passionate advocates for the wild. Every member of our crew, from founders to field staff, shares a deep, unwavering love for the natural world.
What brings us together is a simple yet powerful mission: to reconnect people with nature, protect wildlife, and inspire a lifelong sense of wonder for the wild places that still remain. Whether we’re out in the field, educating others, or developing new ways to support conservation, everything we do is rooted in passion, curiosity, and respect for the earth.
Unlock Nature isn’t just our name, it’s what we do, every single day.
Introducing the Experts Meet the Professionals Behind Your Adventures
DICK LOCK CO-FOUNDER & WILDLIFE EXPERT
Dick is one of the founders of Unlock Nature and a renowned wildlife guide, often regarded as Suriname’s herpetology expert. While he can certainly introduce you to a variety of herps, we see him as an all-round guide with extensive knowledge of Suriname’s wildlife.
A true adventurer at heart, Dick thrives on back-to-basics tours. He enjoys camping with minimal equipment, dragging boats through rapids, and exploring remote, unseen areas. His passion for the wilderness shines through in every expedition.
If you’re seeking a real adventure, look no further—Dick is your guy!
Lieke verwoerd CO-FOUNDER & organisational genius
Lieke is one of the founders of Unlock Nature and the organisational talent behind our operations. She is likely the first person you’ll speak to when you reach out to us. With her extensive knowledge of Suriname, Lieke knows all the best places to visit and can provide you with all the information you need to embark on one of our trips.
While her main tasks are office-related, she has a deep passion for nature and loves to venture into the jungle. This combination of organisational skills and enthusiasm for the wilderness makes Lieke the perfect person to plan your unforgettable journey in Suriname!
Anouk kortekaas Operations specialist
Anouk opens her laptop everyday to make sure everything runs smoothly. With her love for Suriname and her office skills she is the person to make your time in Suriname amazing! She also loves to travel and knows what is needed for an unforgettable trip. When Anouk is not busy with her laptop you can find her in nature for either a relaxing time with friends or something adventurous. Nothing is too scary for Anouk!
Anouk is also part of Snake Patrol Suriname. She wants to create awareness in Suriname about snakes not being dangerous by removing snakes from people’s houses and giving workshops.
Logistics
Matthew Wallace Wildlife Guide
Ashvin Partapsing Wildlife Guide
Ash loves mother nature. The complex coherence of everything that occurs in it will amaze him forever. From a young age, he has been involved with this and especially with the snakes of Suriname. If people in his area had a snake in their yard or an injured animal, he was the person to go to. Ash has been a volunteer park ranger and research volunteer in Peperpot Nature Park before the age of 20. Ash is a member of Snake Patrol Suriname and an Unlock Nature guide.
Survival skills and climbing trees
Danny Stark Wildlife Guide
Danny is a reptile and amphibian enthusiast but loves all wildlife! From a young age he was interested in exploring different countries. In his free time he used to keep and breed a lot of snakes. Now in Surinam he is a proud member of Snake Patrol Suriname. He has the same education in the Netherlands as the Unlock founder Dick Lock and they always kept in touch, which is how he came to work for Unlock Nature. He always wanted to take the opportunity to live and work abroad so there he goes! He already does a lot of Peperpot tours and he is looking forward to do different tours in the future as well!
Herping and snake handling
Aman Soerdjbali Wildlife Guide
Aman’s two favourite things to do are hanging out with friends and to go herping. He often combines the two and one day he thought ‘why don’t I share my passion with more people’? Aman heard already a lot about Unlock Nature and when he met Dick Lock they both knew Aman should work at Unlock Nature. Aman is now a Peperpot guide and he joined some of our multi-day tours. Aman is always super enthusiastic when he is on tour! In the future he hopes to do herping tours or expeditions.
SANDRO VELTMAN PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE
Sandro has been an avid naturalist ever since he used to go birdwatching with his father as a child, first in Belgium and later in other countries across Europe and beyond.
In 2021, he moved to Costa Rica to pursue his passion for wildlife, beginning as an intern and later working for Global Vision International as a programme coordinator in various locations. In this role, he was responsible for conducting wildlife surveys of different taxa and leading groups of volunteers and interns.
During this time, he also dedicated himself to developing his skills in wildlife photography and enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm with others as a nature guide. Although his initial focus was on birds, he has since expanded his expertise to include herpetofauna and mammals, with his interests continuing to grow each day.
After a short internship with Fauna Forever in Peru in mid-2024, where he gained further experience in scientific research methods, he was fortunate to move to Suriname.
Birding and photography
PRODUCTIONS AWARDS, TV, AND FILM
Our passion for wildlife led us beyond the field and into the world of television. We’ve proudly contributed to nature and wildlife productions, helping capture the beauty, drama, and wonder of the wild for audiences around the world.
STEKEN EN PRIKKEN BNN VARA
Steken en Prikken is a Dutch children’s television program on NPO Zapp, where presenters voluntarily experience stings, pricks, pinches, or bites from various animals to assess and explain the pain. Accompanied by a biologist and a doctor, the show delivers a thrilling yet educational experience, exploring whether these encounters are as painful as commonly believed or not as bad as expected.
Our expertise was instrumental in selecting locations and addressing various logistical challenges. Our specialists ensured the ethical treatment, safe handling, and proper management of the animals during filming.
DEADLY 60 BBC-EARTH
In 2024 Unlock nature guides whom are also some of the volunteers at Snake Patrol Suriname helped out finding and filming some of Suriname’s most deadly animals. The team accompanied British naturalist and explorer; Steve Backshall. Whom in many ways influenced the career path of some of our guides. Steve and his crew also supported Snake Patrol Suriname in many ways, and were not shy to credit us on and off camera.
Future for nature Award NOMINEE
Dick Lock is the founder of the tour-organizations Unlock Nature and Herping Suriname but also from the foundation; Snake Patrol Suriname (SPS). All organizations that reflect his passion for nature. Protecting mother nature and share is knowledge with the people on his path are a way of living for him. Reintroduction projects, research, anti-poaching are amongst the activities he does. Founding SPS opened up a possibility to set up a team of volunteers that have a similar vision.
In 2024 Dick applied for the Future For Nature Awards, an award where he could possibly win 50.000 euros to support his projects. Out of the 265 applications Dick was nominated amongst the last 7! Being nominated is already a great honour! Unfortunately, Dick didn’t make it to the last three. But surely he will try again the upcoming years.
Echte meisjes in de jungle Videoland – RTL Nederland
A Dutch reality program where they set up two teams of girls without any jungle experience one soever against each other. Obviously, these girls would still stumble up on some of the Surinamese wildlife. We set the TV crew up with a wildlife specialist for 3 weeks, who would check the camps on a regular basis. And often make sure some extra wildlife shots were provided.
Season 2
Primal Survivor NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC – ICON FILMS
In 2020 Dick Lock was involved during the recordings of this survival program starring Hazen Audel, delivering and handling all kinds of wildlife. Turns out Hazen is just as much as a wildlife-enthusiast as Dick is. Working together for about five days to find wildlife and making sure the shots came out perfectly.
Season 5 – Episode 4
Dancing with the birds NETLIX – SILVERBACK FILMS
In 2018 when Dick had just recently arrived in Suriname. He worked with Fred ecotours to accommodate the recordings of the Netflix series; Dancing with the birds. Being able to work with inspirational people such as Huw Cordey (producer of e.g. planet earth) is a major honor. Fred and Dick worked together lacking sleep whilst they were functioning as guides, cooks, carriers, drivers and in some cases even camera man or sounds man! Together with two camera man, they spent 23 days on the lek (dancing site) of the Guianan Cock of the Rock. This all for about 3.5-minute screen time! A challenging, but amazing experience.
Interested in working with us on your next TV production?
Partners We work with
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