The training portion of the program included diving courses—each student became PADI Open Water Certified and Advanced Open Water Certified. Students learned perfect buoyancy in order to remain inverted for the seventy to eighty minutes needed to conduct a substrate survey along one hundred meters of the selected reef. They also learned to identify certain species of invertebrates and fish.
Training began in February, but entering the water on this warm June day found many students nervous that they would remember all that they had learned. During the previous six days, students lived aboard ship, found a reef to survey, studied, and practiced all the skills needed to conduct a detailed REEF CHECK survey. REEF CHECK, an organization dedicated to helping prevent damage to ocean reefs, would provide their data to scientists around the world.
Now data collection teams had been organized, and the data collection dives awaited them—a reward for all of the hard work they had endured. Fortunately, all of the data collection dives went well. Super support from Khao Lak Scuba Adventures, kept students refreshed, well equipped, and confident. By the end of the data collection dives, all fifteen Concordia student divers and their four adult leaders congratulated each other on a job well done. Excited talk about new adventures next year filled the air.
One of the Expected Learning Results for students at Concordia International School Shanghai is to become Active Global Citizens. These fifteen dedicated students and their adult leaders demonstrated their global citizenship each time they geared up for another data collection dive.
These dedicated student scientists extend to their fellow classmates and to school students from around the world the following challenge: Join us—Become REEF CHECK volunteers. The future of our oceans depends on every student becoming an active global citizen.
For more information regarding this REEF CHECK program or starting your own marine ecology program, contact the following:
Concordia International School Shanghai:
Email: joel.klammer@concordiashanghai.org
Email: online@khaolakscubaadventures.com
REEF CHECK: http://www.reefcheck.org