Education

Stories dealing with Education on Bonaire

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Buddy Dive Resort Announces Marine Life Education Program for September, 2007

Over the past three years, noted naturalists Ned and Anna DeLoach have come to Buddy Dive Resort here on Bonaire to spend the month of September educating and diving with guests and combining those guests’ dive vacations with education, fun, and entertainment.  For 2007, Buddy Dive Resort has just announced an expansion on this popular event, the Marine Life Education Program, which will be held throughout the month of September.

This year, the program will include presentations by the Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) and two weekly field trips with their staff.  These presentations will augment those by Ned and Anna, which are already popular events for Buddy Dive’s guests.

As co-writer of the Reef Coral-ID, Reef Fish-ID and Reef Creatures-ID books (see www.fishid.com), Ned is well known and respected within the marine sciences establishment, dive world, and far beyond. Anna joined forces with her husband to study and document marine life species around the world. As a very talented photographer and videographer, she produced several educational DVDs that examine the relationship of marine animals and their environment.

Mabel Nava de Simal, manager of the Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire, was appointed to her position in January, 2005 and has a background in veterinarian medicines as well as an extensive training in the field of turtle research. Together with STCB’s field specialist Gielmon “Funchi” Egbreghts, Mabel will guide weekly field trips and conduct a slide show presentation about this intriguing species that fascinates so many divers and snorkelers (see www.bonairenature.com/turtles/

September is also an active period in the coral spawning season and Ned & Anna will give special presentations that will let you understand, discover and enjoy the spawning wonders (see image taken during 2006 program).

For additional details and a complete schedule of each week’s events, view the Buddy Dive Resort press release (in PDF format).  (Source:  Buddy Dive Resort Press Release)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

The Economic Platform Bonaire Foundation Moves Forward with Plans for Hotel School

The Economic Platform Bonaire Foundation, according to chairman Evert Piar, will be moving forward with its plans to develop a hotel with hotel school and campus.  Over the coming months, Bonaire will realize historical changes that are based on decisions in the political field.  Planning now for an infrastructure which can provide hotel-training will position Bonaire at the forefront.

Evert Piar continues, “The foundation is not focusing on making money, but on servicing the society by promoting and realizing projects that are important for the economic development of Bonaire.  Together we have to work on the developments of the island.  We must be willing to work hard and continue to prepare ourselves with education.  We are going into a new episode that requires a lot of discipline, integrity, and sense of responsibility.  Let’s start with asking ourselves what we can do for our island and for ourselves, and not what others can do for us.”

The foundation hopes to see the support of the entire Bonaire community in this important project, which is slated to begin in the first six months of 2007.  However, the foundation is still awaiting final decisions regarding the land reserved for the campus.  (Source:  Amigoe)

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Former NASA Astronaut, Charles Bolden, Concludes His Visits to Bonaire’s Schools

This past week, former NASA astronaut, Charlie Bolden, spent a week on Bonaire, visiting with Bonaire’s schoolchildren, and giving presentations to the general public.  His lectures were informative and engaging, and he gave inspiring messages to Bonaire’s youth:  “Work hard, and you can achieve your dreams!”

The Lt. Governor and his wife met Charlie and his family upon arrival at Bonaire’s Flamingo Airport on Saturday, November 25.  Sunday he met with trip sponsors, and Monday evening was a press conference, where Charlie announced the contest winners from the schools and presented their awards.

During the week, Charlie and his family (his wife and daughter were traveling with him) were kept busy visiting schools and meeting the youth of Bonaire.  In between school visits, he did manage to get in a bit of scuba diving.

The week’s events concluded with a presentation to the general public, where Charlie discussed his four space missions and explained various facets of space exploration. 

Thanks go to the organizers of the event, Ben and Laura Buchbinder, as well as the numerous sponsors who made the trip possible.  Click here to view images of the various events of the week which are available on the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery. (Source:  Bonaire Insider reporter)

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Former NASA Astronaut, Charles Bolden, to Announce Bonaire Contest Winners

Former NASA astronaut Charles Bolden will land on Bonaire November 25th, with the goal of speaking with students and awarding prizes in the space essay and poster contests.  He will be met at the airport by Lt. Governor Herbert Domacasse and officially welcomed to the island.

Monday evening, November 27th, there will be a Press Conference at the Divi Flamingo Hotel where Astronaut Bolden will announce the winners of the poster and essay contests and present the prizes to the winners.  Over 100 students from the 6th class, SGB, Pelikaan School, and UniCollege entered the poster and essay contests. 

He will begin his school meetings with six classes of the basic schools on Monday morning in the Sala Grandi at Jong Bonaire.  Sixth grade students from Reina Beatrix and Papa Cornes will meet with the astronaut at 9 am and students from St. Bernardus, Louis Bertran and Kristo Bon Wardador will get to meet him at 10:30.

On Tuesday, November 28th, the astronaut will meet with students of UniCollege and the Pelikaan School in the morning at 8 am and then visit the teens at Jong Bonaire in the afternoon.  Participants of FORMA programs are invited to join the Jong Bonaire session as well as any SGB students who will not get to hear the astronaut speak at SGB.  The Jong Bonaire session will be from 4:00 to 5:30 PM.

Wednesday, November 29th, there will be several sessions at SGB, from 7:30 in the morning until 12:30 PM, after which Astronaut Bolden will enjoy lunch with the Rotary Bonaire.  On Thursday evening, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, Astronaut Bolden will make a presentation to the community in the auditorium at Jong Bonaire.  The community meeting is open to all and parents are welcome to bring young children.  There is no charge for this event.

When he is not making a presentation to one of the schools or the community, the former astronaut will try to take in some of Bonaire’s scuba diving and perhaps try windsurfing. General Bolden is a scuba diver and he is visiting Bonaire for the first time.

Sponsors for the astronaut’s visit are ReMax Real Estate, Support Bonaire Foundation, Divi Flamingo Hotel, Hertz Car Rental, Jong Bonaire, The Pelikaan School, Jake Richter & family, and the Buchbinders.  The astronaut’s visit has been endorsed by the Board of Education, the RK Schoolbestuur and SGB.  The visit of the former astronaut has been arranged by Bonaire residents Ben and Laura Buchbinder.  Ben Buchbinder worked for NASA for many years before retiring to Bonaire.  It was during his NASA work that he became friends with Bolden.  Buchbinder has also been a consultant to the Hubble Space Telescope project.  During his volunteer work at Pelikaan School Buchbinder realized that a number of young people were very interested in space and so he decided to invite the astronaut to talk with Bonaire’s youth.  (Source:  Press Release)