Explorer: The Start of Waterstart - Less Than a Week Away!

The summer 2011 BIOS Explorer program and Marine Science Internships start on Monday! It will be a summer of exploring caves and wrecks, making friends, promoting environmental awareness and personal growth. We are so excited here at BIOS that we thought we'd share a few things we have planned for this summer and introduce you to the cast and crew of the good ship Polaris.

Waterstart has been invited to explore the Warwick Wreck this summer! A few members of the crew are heading over there today to take a first look at the wreck. Students can look forward to hands on exploration of this site, as well as environmental investigations, PADI scuba certification courses, mapping Walsingham caves, research based field trips, lab activities and cooperative games.

As the summer progresses, we will be asking our students to share what they have learned and experienced with the BIOS Ocean Academy by uploading pictures and stories to this blog. So come back to see your friends and family explore and experiment!

Meet the Crew

J. P. is the BIOS Education Officer. He is from Bermuda, where he attended Saltus grammar school, and lives with his wife Amanda and two kids. On the weekends he can be found playing with his band, 'The Go Down Berries'.

Kaitlin is the director of the Marine Science Internship (MSI) program. She graduated from Columbia University.

Dready is Head Counselor with Waterstart Ltd. He attended Saltus grammar school with J.P. and graduated from Heriot -Watt University. This year is Dready's ninth summer with the BIOS Explorer Program.

Dean is the BIOS Outreach & Media Coordinator and like J. P., a PADI Open Water Instructor. He is originally from England but recently relocated to Bermuda, where the diving is much warmer! This is Dean's fourth year with the BIOS Explorer Program.

Sawyer is a Bermuda Program intern. She is self proclaimed water rat who spent her younger summers as a student in the Waterstart Program. Sawyer went to Bermuda High School and is going to be sophomore at Wake Forrest University with aspirations in environmental law.

Skye is also another Bermuda Program intern who also participated in Waterstart when she was younger. She is currently attending school in England. Skye has two sisters named Alice and Florence.

Graham is a Princeton intern with the PICS program and is currently training to become a PADI Divemaster. He is from Chicago, Illinois and is studying psychology and medicine. This is Graham's second year with the program.

Polaris is the trusted vessel of Waterstart Ltd.

Polly is also a Princeton intern and me.

What you can do at home: send us questions, comments, photographs and your experiences through the comments below, or by emailing me directly at polly.korbel@bios.edu.