Summer Marine Biology Programs for Young People and Educators

Be GREEN and BLUE because the Ocean Matters

Summer Marine Biology Programs for Young People and Educators

...You Matter!

Many scientists believe actions taken or not taken in the next 10-30 years will irrevocably decide the fate of the coral reef.
75% of fish populations are declining or are being fished to their biological limits
Nearly two thirds of the harvest of fish world wide depend on coastal mangroves, wetlands, seagrass beds, and coral reefs -- all ecosystems that are seriously threatened.
In the Caribbean as much as 70% of beaches studied over a ten-year period had eroded.
Harmful algal blooms along the United States coastlines increased from 200 in the 1970s to 700 in the 1990s. Since 1991, these algal blooms have caused almost $300 million damage in terms of fish kills, public health problems, and lost tourism revenue.
Studies by the world's climate scientists indicate the expected increase in ocean temperatures could result in a sea level rise of as much as 95 centimeters (3.1 feet) at the end of this century.
According to a recent report by NOAA, the warming of the tropical oceans by trapped greenhouse gases is now believed responsible for the devastating weather impacts of El Nino/La Nina, a trend which is predicted to increase in frequency.
Less than one tenth of one percent of the deep sea has been explored.
For most of the 25,000 kinds of fish we've identified, little is known about them other than a name.
Although two-thirds of our planet is water, a review of scientific papers shows that terrestrially-oriented research outnumbers marine topics 13:1.
Scientists understand little about many of the systems upon which the health of the ocean -- and ultimately, our planet -- depend.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."

-- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.

The SCUBA Program

Instructors Laura Parker Roerden and Chris Gawle prepare for a dive. We adhere to the strictest of safety regulations as outlined by PADI. Our dive instructors are seasoned educators with many years of experience teaching teenagers and others. We choose our site for the program by its proximity to high quality emergency care, including a dive chamber. We do not allow students to dive without the safety of the group and always have at least one qualified dive master or instructor in the water. Our student to faculty ratio in the water is minimally 5 to 1. Most often we exceed this ratio, since no one -- faculty included -- likes to miss a dive! We have never had a dive accident in the time we have been running the program.

During the first week of the program, students are instructed in SCUBA in both classroom and pool sessions. They then take their Open Water Certification dives, receive certification and are ready to begin the research and recreational diving. By the end of the program, students are qualified to test for their Advanced Diving Certification. Along the way, we also award qualified students with Marine Identification Certifications.

SCUBA buddies are buddies for life. "When you're diving you're part of the world, part of the sea. After diving twice a day, I've fallen in love with it. I remember being on our last research dive and being underwater and not wanting to leave and being so happy. I loved just being there and watching and become part of their world."

-- Robyn, a student of Ocean Matters