By Heather Creech Scientists and educators have been working side-by-side to develop the concept of ocean literacy—an understanding of the ocean’s influence on us and our influence on the ocean—to address head-on the lack of ocean-related content in education, instructional materials, and assessment. It takes only a little searching …

Words By Heather Creech As with just about every other aspect of our lives, COVID-19 has had an impact on marine public education and citizen science projects.   At the time of writing, large institutions like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Ocean Wise (the Vancouver Aquarium) remain closed, while …

The Exploration Diving Society of British Columbia has officially launched. The EDSBC is a diverse group of experienced and multi-disciplined underwater explorers discovering new diving opportunities for freedivers, non-technical divers, and technical divers. Like most great ideas, this one started at a coffee shop with a group of people discussing …

Joe Grabowski is bringing adventure, science, and global exploration into classrooms around North America Interview by Jill Heinerth Just over five years ago, I visited a small classroom in Guelph, Ontario, to visit with the kids and their teacher Joe Grabowski. He spoke to me about his dream to …

By Heather Creech In citizen science, there comes a moment when recording observations simply isn’t enough to protect the ocean we love—when it becomes necessary to dive headfirst into the politics and economics of marine conservation. That time has come in South Australia. Divers, scientists, and many others (including …

By Heather Creech Earlier this year, the staff at the Cairns Aquarium in Queensland noticed something unusual: some of the fish stopped eating and began hiding in the dark corners of their tanks. Turns out the fish—inquisitive creatures that they are—were missing their human visitors during the pandemic lockdown. …

By Heather Creech Citizen science is not just for nature explorers. Two years ago, a group of history buffs and shipwreck divers announced that they might have found the oldest known wreck in Lake Erie: the 47-ft (14m) schooner Lake Serpent, which disappeared in 1829. They are “citizen archaeologists”—divers passionate …

By Heather Creech Sport divers are working with marine science organizations in nearly every region of the world to document the state of our ocean ecosystems. But getting those observations is challenging. In addition to identifying local marine life, volunteer divers need to be able to manage currents and …

By Heather Creech One gorgeous spring weekend in May, the residents of two small islands in British Columbia got together for something more than coffee. Loaded up with cameras, notebooks, and sample bags, adults and school kids on Mayne and Galiano Islands spread out in order to document all …

Coral Guardian, a major force in coral reef conservation around the world, now offers a unique Christmas gift through it’s Adopt a Coral program, Coral Guardian. So spoil your loved ones, or yourself, while contributing to the protection of the ocean. Click here to adopt!  Each coral adopted comes …

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is conducting a study of licensed anglers to learn more about fishing, shellfishing, and diving participation and preferences so that they can better manage specific fisheries and opportunities. Your answers are very important to the Department, and the survey will only take approximately …

By Heather Creech Dan is a South Australian freediver who loves to snorkel the Port River estuary – a site near Adelaide’s marine shipping terminals not often visited by divers. One day last year, Dan spotted something in the shallows he didn’t recognize: an unusual bivalve. So he took …

Words by Nath Lasselin Going with the flow raises awareness of drinking water health It was Friday morning, around 7:00 am. I was all geared up, with my drysuit, my latex hood, my modified Kirby Morgan full face mask, communication system, rebreather, tanks, computer, scooter and all kinds of …

By Heather Creech Don Gordon carries a special slate on every dive. On that slate is a list of 100 species of fish, invertebrates, and marine plants for the Pacific Northwest waters. While diving with his friends, he checks off what he sees – a single sighting, a few …

Citizen scientists around the world are being urged to share their anchor ‘finds’ following the relaunch of an online resource that aims to be the world’s biggest public record of these iconic objects.  The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) has relaunched the popular Big Anchor Project following a generous public …