Education

Stories dealing with Education on Bonaire

Thursday, March 27, 2008

NOAA Coral Reef Watch Launches Online Tutorial About Coral Reefs and Satellite Technology

If you’ve ever wondered how a satellite measures the temperature of the ocean’s surface from 850 kilometers above the earth, or you have never heard of the Degree Heating Weeks concept, then the new online tool from NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch will help educate you.

NOAA Coral Reef Watch just announced they’ve launched an online tutorial that takes their readers through coral bleaching, satellite technology, as well as how satellite data is used to monitor for the conditions that cause coral bleaching.  Readers will also find hands-on exercises to test themselves on what they’ve learned and also illustrate where to find data on the NOAA web site.

The main audience is coral reef managers and scientists, who need to know when corals they manage or study are at risk for bleaching.  However, NOAA has also tried to use non-technical language so the resource will be useful for students and teachers—or anyone else who wants to learn more about coral reefs and satellite technology. The lessons are tied to the U.S. National Science Education standards for use in the classroom.

To learn more about this valuable tool, click here.  (Source:  MINA)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Bonaire’s CIEE Continues Lecture Series with Two New Events

Following up on an interesting lecture last week, Bonaire’s CIEE has announced another lecture series for Wednesday, November 28, 2007, and also Thursday, November 29, 2007, and all are invited to attend.

At this first lecture, the seven students for the fall semester 2007 will present their research data results beginning at 7:30 PM.  There will be refreshments between presentations.

Also, on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 7:30 PM, Mabel Nava de Simal, Project Director for Sea Turtle Conservation, will give a presentation.

Both lectures will be held at the CIEE Building on Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot.  (Source:  CIEE)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Bonaire’s Student Chefs Intern in Emilia Romagna, Italy

Currently, several of Bonaire’s student chefs are experiencing an internship at the Nazareno School, in Emilia Romagna, Italy.

They are learning new skills while honing old skills with Italy’s professional chefs in a beautiful, high-tech, state-of-the-art kitchen.  While in Italy, they also learn about a different culture, a country rich with resources, as well as how to work with other students from around the world.  (Source:  SGB Intern Moderator)

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

BONAI (Bonaire Archaeological Institute) to Hold Special Evening Onboard The Freewinds on May 28th

The BONAI (Bonaire Archaeological Institute) will hold a special evening presentation on-board the Freewinds on May 28th, 2007.  The evening will be both entertaining with a benefit concert and also educational as BONAI presents information regarding recent archaeological investigations.

The historical period in question that will be discussed is the period of World World II, with an emphasis on the visit by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to Bonaire in 1944.  This project covers an important phase in Bonaire’s time.  Thanks for the coordination of the work to initiate this project go Dr. Jay Haviser, Mr. Raymundo Saleh of the Bonaire Economic Platform, Mrs. Jacki Bernabela of BONAI, Mr. Hubert Vis of SKOL, and Captain Mike Napier of the Freewinds.

With donations that have already been received, the start of the initial phase began with Dr. Haviser spending ten days in Washington, D.C. pouring over the U.S. National Archives and the U.S. Military Archives, specifically looking for data about any U.S. military presences in the Antilles during the Second World War.

The second phase will be to inform the public about his results of the initial archives research; this information will be provided on the Freewinds on May 28th, 2007 at 7:30 PM.

The final phase of the project must take place on Bonaire in the form of interviews with those still living on Bonaire who were involved in the Roosevelt visit along with archeological excavaton in areas specific to Bonaire.  This work will most likely be conducted in June and July with the assistance of interested students of the SKB school.

The project will close with a new book by Dr. Haviser on the subject, along with a commemorative plaque to record the visit of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

The combined evening will include the discussion, R&B music by the Freewinds Band with Antillean singer, Debby Beaujon.  Cost is FL 15.00 (USD $8.43) per person, and tickets can be purchased at either SKAL or The Tourist Corporation (on Kaya Grandi).  (Source:  BONAI)

Dive Friends Bonaire Offers Free Buoyancy Clinic to Celebrate World Ocean Day, 2007

World Ocean Day is celebrated across the globe on June 8th, 2007, and Dive Friends Bonaire is announcing a local event on Bonaire to assist divers with the awareness and importance of the world’s oceans. 

Any divers who are on the island on June 8th, 2007 are invited to join Dive Friends Bonaire for a free Buoyancy Clinic in the afternoon starting at 1:30 PM at their Dive Friends Yellow Submarine facility on the ocean promenade in Kralendijk.  The clinic will begin with a talk by manager Gerrie about how divers can contribute to the ocean’s health, followed by an in-water workshop on how all participants can improve their buoyancy in the water to help from touching reefs.

Following the workshop, a social happy hour with free rum punch will be available to all the clinic’s participants to end the day’s events.  For more information or to register for the clinic, email info@dive-friends-bonaire.com.  For additional information about diving on Bonaire, visit their web site at http://www.dive-friends-bonaire.com or for more information about World Ocean Day, visit http://www.worldoceanday.org.

(Source:  Dive Friends Bonaire)

Monday, May 21, 2007

Captain Don’s Habitat Hosts Nikon School of Underwater Photography for 2007

The New Nikon School of Underwater Photography is a revised photo course format with a focus on the use of digital cameras.  The course provides the basis for more creative imaging and opportunities for participation in new photographic activities and is available each week at Captain Don’s Habitat.

Students can plan their vacations totally at their convenience and be assured that they can participate in the program.  It’s very easy to sign up for the course, as now all hotel, diving, and photography course availability can be confirmed with one single reservation.

Students can choose their curriculum from either the Point-and-Shoot format (for Nikon Coolpix cameras) or the Digital SLR format.  Participants will be provided with all the underwater photographic equipment needed as part of the course, including camera, housing, wide-angle lens converters, slave strobe, SLR camera and interchangeable lenses, strobes and accessories. They may also test dive the world’s most popular underwater digital camera systems at no cost.

For additional information, click here.  (Source:  Nikon School of Photography Web Site)

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Film of Bonaire In The 1950s

Sometime in the early 1950s, Polygoon-Profilti, a Dutch production company, produced a short documentary about Bonaire, entitled “Eiland van rust” (Island of Rest). The film shows fascinating scenes from life on Bonaire over half a century again, documenting salt harvesting, charcoal creation, aloe farming, and fishing off fishing sail boats. Late last year that film was released on-line. And thanks to a BonaireTalk participant, we now have a link to that film to share with our readers.

The film can be found here. Once you pull up the page at that link, click on the link in the left column which says “BONAIRE: Eiland van rust”, and a window will pop up. The first time you pull up the video page, you will be asked (in Dutch) to select whether you want to view the streaming video in Windows Media or Real format (Windows Media is probably better for Windows users). A second set of options allow you to choose your Internet connection speed. “Langzaam” means slow (dial-up, for example), while “Snel” means fast (broadband). Once you have set the proper settings for your computer and connection, click on the button that says “opslaan” to start streaming the video.

It’s an amazing look at a Bonaire we no longer see. The same page, incidentally, has links to videos from Aruba and Curacao too. (Source: Post by Iris van den Berg on BonaireTalk)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

For Earth Day, View the Free Film, An Inconvenient Truth

Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 is Earth Day and several Bonaire sponsors have joined together to present a series of viewings of the move, An Inconvenient Truth, at the Bonaire cinema.

Additional viewings will be also available on April 23rd, 24th, and 25th, but what will be special about the April 22nd viewing is that a panel will be available for discussion and to answer any questions about how global warming is affecting our planet and lives.

Seating is limited for each viewing, so plan to arrive early.  For additional details, please click here (in English an Papiamentu). (Source:  STINAPA and BONHATA releases)

Note Revision, April 19, 2007: Additional Earth Day activities include beach cleanups at Lageon, Playa Chiki, and Baby Beach.  For more information on these beach cleanups, contact Mabel Nava at 780-0433 or Crisanta Martha at 526-9989.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Bonaire Algal Survey and Inventory Completed

In November, 2006 Conservation International, in cooperation with the Antillean Dept. of Environment (MINA) and Bonaire’s National Parks Foundation (Stinapa Bonaire), organized an expedition to survey the algae in the Bonaire National Marine Park by algae specialists Marc and Diane Littler of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. 

The Littler’s team included Barrett Brooks, Don Hurlbert, Barbara Watanabe, and Larry Gorenflo of Conservation International. The purpose of this expedition was to assist MINA, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), and the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International to assess the current status of Bonaire’s marine flora. The team collected over 300 specimens from the upper reef to a depth of 56 meters. This assessment increased the known species reported from Bonaire by 35%. The marine flora is typical of many Caribbean reefs with no specific areas of extremely high diversity or unique species composition. Another result of this expedition is a library of over 100 digital images, properly identified to the species level in most cases.

The species list and images will be made available through a web page currently under development, for use by managers for oral presentation, training manuals, brochures, etc., and to make marine plant identification possible for Bonaire’s many divers, volunteers, conservationists or interested agencies.

The team also surveyed the health of the reefs using key indicator species (recognized from over 30 continuous years of coral-reef research) in reference to the growing problems associated with eutrophication and overfishing along tropical and subtropical shorelines worldwide. The ecological responses of corals and macroalgae to nutrient enrichment and release from predation have been repeatedly cited as priority areas in need of further research (National Research Council, 2000; Littler & Littler 2006). They concluded that Bonaire’s reefs seemed in excellent shape with respect to fish populations. Large numbers of herbivorous fishes occurred at nearly all of the 21 sites surveyed. Some signs were noted of an overly stressed environment most likely due to high nutrient and/or sediment levels. A disturbing abundance of dead and diseased coral was noted, with Black Band and Dark Spot diseases being the most prevalent. Many sites surveyed were dominated by noxious Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). This harmful bloom of unpalatable (chemically-defended) Cyanobacteria is smothering other organisms occupying much of the available space, precluding settlement of desirable coral species.

The full report of the expedition with selected images can be downloaded by clicking here (in PDF format with a file size of 2.8 MB). (Source:  MINA Release)

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

STINAPA and the Bonaire Marine Park Welcome All to a Scientific Presentation

On Friday, March 16, 2007, a presentation will be given by Dr. Peter Mumby from the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) and Dr. Robert Steneck, who is STINAPA’s main adviser in the Fish Protected Areas Project.

The presentation is about “The Resilience of Coral Reefs and the Importance of Parrotfish” and will be held in the Habitat Conference Room at 8:00 PM Friday evening.  All are welcome to attend and are encouraged not to miss this opportunity to learn about the ecological importance of parrotfish in coral reef systems.  (Source:  STINAPA)