Introducing Mystery Class #10 Nelson Lagoon, Alaska 55.917 N, 161.000 W Greeting From the Bering Sea! Hello from Nelson Lagoon Click on image to enlarge Hello, we are students from the remote Alaska Native village of Nelson Lagoon. Our community is located about 700 miles southwest of Anchorage , and only has a population of 85 people. We are on the shores of the Bering Sea. You can only get here by small plane or by boat. Nelson Lagoon Map Click on image to enlarge Our School, Nelson Lagoon School, is a Pre K-12 school located just off the western end of the Alaska Peninsula. It is a "Bush school" - meaning a public school located off the road system. Most residents are of Aleut Native heritage. We have 23 students in school from preschool to 12th grade, although this fluctuates with various fishing and hunting seasons. Mrs. Concilus is our teacher in the Kindergarten through 6th grade room and Mr. Concilus teaches the 7th-12th grades. Here's our school The school has an open floorplan,with the single, large room divided by moveable sections into four main areas: two main classrooms; a small library; and a computer / stage area There is also a separate Industrial Arts room with some woodworking and other shop equipment. Finally,there is a multipurpose room, used mostly as a gymnasium, which is available for community use three nights each week. School here is like the old one-room schoolhouses America used to have, except that we have modern computers. Everybody helps each other. In many ways we are more like a family than a class. Besides, lots of us are related to each other anyway. Learn More About Nelson Lagoon School on our Website: Nelson Lagoon School Best Scenery in the World Most people think we have some of the best scenery in the world: volcanoes sticking 10,000 feet into the air right out of the ocean, bears, whales of many kinds, and lots of endangered water birds - like the emperor goose. Emperor Goose The salmon runs attract the famous Alaska brown bear to this region. Bear tracks along the black sand beaches of Nelson Lagoon are very common. The bears swim across the lagoon or walk up the spit from the main land to catch their share of salmon and seals. Caribou are not far away, and the Peninsula supports moose, wolves, many small fur bearing animals. Nearby Izembek Wildlife refuge has one of the largest annual gatherings of waterfowl (geese & ducks) in theworld. We see many of these as they gather twice a year to migrate. Live From Nelson Lagoon Rainbow at Nelson Lagoon We also have some of the most interesting weather: winds often top 100 miles per hour, snow happens in every month of the year, and we have no trees because they can't survive the climate. Check out our live weather station, and live weather camera if you are interested in seeing how lucky you are to live where you do ;-) Live Bering Sea Weather Cam Working at Sea The majority of the people here fish for salmon and crab for a living. Most families have boats in the 35-50 foot range, and fish the saltwater lagoon behind the village for the seasonal runs of red and silver salmon. Others also work on larger boats in the most dangerous profession in the United States - fishing for Alaskan King Crab and other crab species during the middle of the winter. Brrr. Ice often sinks these boats because the spray freezes all over the ship, making them roll over from being lopsided. We have really enjoyed this project, and hope you have had fun with our clues. We also hope to add videos of gray whales to our web site by the middle of April. We always consider their arrival a big sign that spring is here. Thanks, Journey North, for allowing us to participate. Rebecca Concilus Nelson Lagoon School Back to Today's Report Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form