Bonita Nelson

Bonita Nelson is a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) research biologist at Auke Bay Laboratory in Juneau, Alaska. Nelson has received the Conservation Science Institute International Environmental Educator Award because of her many years of dedicated work as the coordinator of the Auke Bay Laboratory Outreach Program.

Nelson's primary outreach project is to provide interpretive programs for kindergarten and 6th grade students as part of the Juneau school district Seaweek program, an Alaskan state-wide K-6 marine and wetland curriculum that combines field trips with classroom activities. Nelson organizes 1,600 students and chaperones who participate in this program which involves 60 minute education units for the kindergartners and 90 minute sessions for the 6th graders. The units include: touch tanks (local invertebrates), aquaria identification activity (using age appropriate cards), book displays, habitat felt boards, tide pool manipulative units, and shell identification/matching games. Additionally, the older students participate in the following hands on activities: oil spill in a pie pan (see image to right with Nelson presenting oil spill unit), exploring by-catch using jellybeans, kelp forest/Seaweek products, sieving for macroinvertebrates, the effects of fishing on coral beds, and exploring the deep abyss. Numerous poster displays describing North Pacific Ocean research activities are on display.

Nelson also coordinates Auke Bay Laboratory's work with the Southeast Alaska Regional Science Fair. This is a regionally affiliated fair with 100 participants. Auke Bay Laboratory mentors 10-15 students per year and about half use the wet laboratory facilities which Nelson oversees. Nelson is in charge of finding, selecting, and coordinating all of the 100 judges for the science fair, and she personally mentors 2 - 4 students each year.

When she's not doing her research and education programs, Nelson conducts special interpretative programs for 10 - 15 groups/year at Auke Bay Laboratory. The programs are tailored to each group's needs and have included such things as: career information for high school and college students, introduction and intermediate tidal biology for students from interior Alaska and Canada, salmon life history studies for middle school and high school students, and general information about Auke Bay Laboratory research activities for scouts, summer camp kids, and Elderhostel groups. Programs usually involve a slide show, posters and if appropriate, hands-on activities.

Each year Nelson participates in job shadowing activities associated with Juneau students and occasionally with high school and college students from other Alaskan towns. These activities involve between 1 and 5 days of “shadowing” Nelson in her office. Nelson also visits classrooms and attends special activities for the Juneau school district. She attends the annual Juneau/Douglas High School career fair. Nelson was president of the middle school (Dzantik'i Heeni) PTA for two years, coordinator of their scholastic book fair for three years, and served as a liaison to the Juneau school district planning team for two years. Nelson was awarded the “Outstanding Educational Professional Outside the District Award” by the Juneau School district in 2001 for her educational and volunteer outreach activities.

Nelson designed an activity box and wrote the manual for the Tongass Alaska Girl Scouts Wetland Patch. These materials provide leaders with the supplies and knowledge needed to explore, investigate, and understand wetlands in Alaska. Nelson is a member of Northwest Aquatic Marine Educator's Association and helped organize the Juneau annual meeting in 2002.