Bonnie Chartier

Born in Churchill and the daughter of a trapper, Bonnie has played an instrumental role in fostering the development of tourism in the region. With the outdoors in her blood since she was a child, Bonnie’s love and enthusiasm for the Arctic is obvious to all who travel with her. Her knowledge of native wildlife is unsurpassed, and her natural history expertise is evidenced in her book, A Birder’s Guide to Churchill, which is widely distributed by the American Birding Association and is currently in its 3rd edition. Bonnie also co-authored Encounters on Hudson Bay. For the past nine years she has been a Canadian Ranger, a sub-component of the Canadian Armed Forces reserve that provide a military presence in Canada's sparsely settled northern, coastal, and isolated areas. She currently sits on the Cape Churchill Wildlife Advisory Board. Bonnie received the Manitoba Business Woman of the Year award in 1995.

Upcoming Adventures with Bonnie:
Polar Bears of Churchill

Praise from Nat Hab travelers:

K. Becker
"Bonnie grew up in polar bear country and knows so much about the area. I was amazed and delighted! She is passionate and it carried over to all of us that were fortunate enough to travel with her. She is also very personable and funny. I would definitely want to travel with her again."

J. Flynn
"We loved having Bonnie as our guide. She was lively and responsive to all questions. She was very clear in both giving directions regarding the trip logistics and in educating us about the bears, other wildlife and history of Churchill. Her enthusiasm kept everyone excited and engaged. We had a good group, but I think Bonnie did a lot to help us gel and to keep us energized and ready to pack in as much as we could during our adventures. She also worked well with our drivers."

P. Johnson
"Bonnie was absolutely wonderful—she's awesome!! I was extremely impressed with her personality, friendliness, knowledge and expertise about the bears and other wildlife. She made sure all of us were having a good time and took good care of us. Some of us had asked to get some pictures of the signs in town and she made sure we worked it into our schedule. We asked to get our passports stamped and she made sure we had time to do that as well. I would definitely do another trip with her as my guide."

M. Shirley
"I couldn't ask for more from a guide than Bonnie provided. When told that my daughter and I are birders, she made it a point to bring a scope. Not only did she take care of us and educate us, she was fun to be with too."

M. Pimm
"Bonnie was great and the highlight of the trip. She took great care of us and knows the area and the wildlife very well. We had a great time with her."

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