Danielle M. Nelson, M.S.

Ecosystem Restoration 

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I am extremely passionate about restoring natural ecological functions to our degraded ecosystems and take every opportunity I can to volunteer my time participating in these rewarding projects.

 

Since moving to the greater Chicago area in 2016, I have participated in Chicago River clean-up events and volunteer time working with Friends of Illinois Beach to participate in trail and native habitat stewardship activities at Illinois Beach State Park.    

 

During my stint in Florida, I participated in numerous native dune, saltmarsh, and seagrass restoration projects in the greater Pensacola area through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Restoration Section. I also volunteered time at the FDEP nursery and greenhouse for general care and propagation of native plants that have yet to be planted. 

 

During a 2010 trip to Belize I was able to participate in an extensive mangrove restoration project in conjunction with Biology students from the University of Belize. In addition to researching best practices for mangrove forest restoration, I also presented conservation workshops to visiting international and local students and community leaders.  

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Citizen Science 

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I am a firm believer that positive change comes though education and hands-on learning. It is through this belief that I have come to be a huge supporter of citizen science programs. In early 2017 I assisted colleagues at the University of Illinois with the development of the COASTS Program (Citizens Observing and Surveying the Shoreline). Through this program, we trained and assisted citizen volunteers to take beach profiles and measure coastal erosion and accretion and Lake Michigan lake-level change. Data collected by Chicago-area citizens and students fed into our regional coastal database and helped identify erosional hotspots on the Illinois coast and the impacts of lake level change on local communities. While this program is no longer actively managed, it was and continues to be a valuable teaching tool for local communities and park districts.