With her friends Carsten and Brigitte Brauckmann she uses paleontological congresses, excursions and expeditions for studying the fauna and flora of the visited regions. Together they are fond of the continents of the southern hemisphere, in particular South America, Africa and Australia, because these three continents were parts of a former super-continent named "Gondwana" in the history of our planet. Many of Elke's pictures therefore show species from this region of the world. Carsten, Brigitte and Elke jointly visited Western Australia and large parts of eastern Australia, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Namibia, the Dominican Republic and many European countries. In the meantime, Elke has participated in numerous exhibitions in Germany, and published many of her pictures in popular and scientific journals and books. 2018 she has written her own book "Grönings picture cabinet" with a selection of 127 pictures of animals.

Memberships:

Since 2010 member of the animal painters of Germany: "Animaler".

Since 2019 signature member of the "Artists for Conservation - AFC". 

Since 2023 associate member of the "Society of Animal Artists - SAA".

Exhibitions in natural history museums, university museums and ornithological Museum Heineanum, Germany, for example:

1. Participation in "Species and Diversity = Art und Vielfalt", Natural History Museum Magdeburg: 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022.

2. Participation in special exhibition "MoVo = Modern Bird Pictures", Museum Heineanum, Halberstadt: 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023.

3. Organizer and performer of limited exhibitions, GeoMuseum, Clausthal University of Technology: 2004 - "Southern Africa Excursion", 2006 - "Fabulous Creatures", 2008 - "Reef Animals".

4. Participation in the virtual exhibition (2023 also in the live presentation) of the "Artists for Conservation", Vancouver: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023.

5. Participation in the live exhibition "Art and the Animal" 2023 of the "Society of Animal Artists", Wheeling.