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2015 Recipient Rick Bonney

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Rick Bonney

Rick Bonney of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has been selected as the winner of the 2015 Youth Environmental Science Medal presented by Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists in recognition of his long-standing contributions to youth doing science.

 

Rick joined the full-time staff of the Ornithology Lab in 1983 and in 1989 was named director of the Lab’s education program, a position he held for 15 years. During that time he focused on developing projects in which the public actively engages in scientific investigations in partnership with Lab scientists, a concept now known as citizen science. He co-founded the Lab’s citizen science program and for several years directed both the education and citizen science programs, supervising the development of Project FeederWatch, Project PigeonWatch, The Birdhouse Network, Classroom FeederWatch, the Great Backyard Bird Count, Urban Bird Studies, eBird, and BirdSleuth. He co-edited the second edition of the Lab’s Home Study Course in Bird Biology, which includes the Cornell Handbook of Bird Biology (Princeton University Press, 2004).

In 2005 Rick was named director of a new Lab unit, Program Development and Evaluation, founded to work more broadly on the public engagement in science. In that capacity he founded the website www.citizenscience.org, which is devoted to building and supporting the growing field of citizen science; advised numerous citizen science projects developed and run by partner institutions; co-edited a book, Citizen Science, published by Cornell University Press in 2012; helped to found the Citizen Science Association; and continued to receive many awards from the National Science Foundation to support various aspects of public engagement in science.

Underlying Rick’s work are his efforts to understand the social and learning outcomes of various models of public participation in science. Toward that end he was lead of the CAISE inquiry group on citizen science in 2009 and editor of the Principle Investigator’s Guide to Managing Evaluation in Informal STEM Education Projects published by CAISE in association with the Visitor Studies Association in 2012. His team at the Lab of Ornithology is currently developing customizable tools for evaluating the impacts of participating in a range of citizen science project models and is employing these tools in the evaluation of several citizen science projects around North America. In 2015, the program that Rick directs was renamed Public Engagement in Science to better reflect its goals and objectives. All his work has embraced the participation of youth in citizen science that can be done independent of participant age.

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Keith Wheeler congratulating Bonney after presenting the Medal

About YLACES:

Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists assists and rewards the implementation of inquiry-based, experiential science education where students do science and contribute to the understanding of our environment through recognition and financial reward programs.

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Grants range from equipment and supplies for taking environmental measurements to recognition and support for students presenting their research projects and working for pervasive inclusion of student research projects in science teaching. 

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YLACES does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, marital status, source of income, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or retaliation in the administration of its programs or activities, as is required by applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders. It is the policy of YLACES to support organizations, projects, and programs that do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other legally protected characteristics. YLACES does not knowingly award grants to organizations that discriminate in their hiring, those they accept as volunteers, or the clients they serve. YLACES seeks to accommodate all who need support to the maximum extent possible.

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YLACES is responsible for coordination of compliance efforts and receipt of inquiries concerning the non-discrimination requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and other applicable federal non-discrimination laws, including, but not limited to, Section 13 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 and 40 C.F.R. Part 7.

 

If you have any questions about this notice or any of YLACES’ nondiscrimination programs, policies, or procedures, you may contact:

Dixon Butler

President, Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists

1920 Quincy Street, NW

Washington, DC 20011

(202) 302-0302

dixon@ylaces.org

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