Ocean Education: Unlocking the Mystery of Underwater Marine Life for Hawai‘i’s Keiki
By Karen Rose
The famous French underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau famously said, “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” Junior Program instructors at Jack’s Diving Locker agree, and are striving to inspire youth through their summer camp programs.
Young and aspiring marine scientists residing on Hawai‘i Island can reap the benefits of living near the ocean and enroll in one of the many keiki (children) and teen summer programs offered by Jack’s Diving Locker. Children who show an interest in marine biology at a young age foster their love of ocean life by attending one of the many adventure camps. For interested teens, these programs may foster an interest in the marine environment and potentially prepare them for a career in marine biology.
Hawai‘i’s ocean environment is filled with pristine coral reefs, colorful reef fish, sea turtles, dolphins, manta rays, and more. Jack’s Diving Locker summer camp programs offer children opportunities to learn more about the marine animals of Hawai‘i while learning diving skills.
“We love working with kids,” said Jeanne White, director of education, “They are the future of diving and keeping our oceans and world in good shape. We strive in our work with keiki to have fun, while being educational and helping them to feel empowered to make a difference in the world.”
Jeanne enjoys watching the kids become more comfortable and competent in the water and how that translates into other life skills. Seeing them accomplish new skills is a very rewarding part of her position.
“We often work with kids who do things they didn’t think they could do,” said Jeanne. “Like mask clearing—it can be really intimidating at first—but once they get it, wow! They feel so accomplished and can use that learning experience to apply to many other things they will experience in life. We hope to have the opportunity to introduce more kids to the wonder of the water this summer.”
Jeanne finds time in the water to be very inspiring to children, whether it’s their first experience snorkeling, or becoming an experienced open water diver (PADI Open Water). As a result, Jackʻs Diving Locker offers comprehensive and varied programs for kids to choose from.
“We have two types of summer programs,” said Chrissy Bogdanovitch, PADI master scuba diver trainer. “We host and facilitate the instruction of adventure programs where mainland teenagers ages 12 to 16 come to Hawai‘i for three weeks. They get involved in a number of different activities and community service opportunities. One of the activities is getting scuba certified, and Jack’s Diving Locker facilitates this certification. We work with about 100 kids per year with this program.”
Jack’s also has programs for local children. Their junior programs for kids ages six to 16 are weeklong camps that run from 9am to 3pm daily. Some topics include manta ray diving, night diving, underwater navigation, underwater photography, and more.
“We have Keiki Camp for children ages six to eight years old and it’s basically an introduction into snorkeling and the marine environment,” said Chrissy. “We take them to the beach, and do tide pool studies and beach cleanups. We teach them all about the local environment and the ocean environment and how to be good stewards. We also do lots of playtime in the pool, so when they go home at the end of the day they’re pretty tuckered out. Then at eight years old, children can begin to learn scuba diving.” This is called the PADI Seal Team and Master Seal Team program.
Another program unique to Jack’s Diving Locker is called the Hawai‘i Sea Camp Series. This is a snorkel-based program with a “try-scuba diving” opportunity. Jack’s offers six different camps. If a child completes all the camps they receive a Marine Ambassador Award and have their name imprinted on a plaque at the Jack’s Diving Locker shop.
“Each camp has a different emphasis,” said Chrissy. “A popular camp is the Sharks and Rays camp. All week we have one subject that we study. We do a lot of different activities including pool time, try-scuba, beach cleanups, tide pool studies, snorkeling at Kahalu‘u, and things like that. We really focus on learning in each one of these subjects. For example, at the end of the Sharks and Rays camp, we take all the kids out for a night manta snorkel, and parents are welcome to come as well.”
Jack’s Diving Locker incorporates similar opportunities with their other camps. For example, in the camp that focuses on dolphins and whales, the students venture out for a dolphin snorkel to witness Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins in their natural environment, whether it’s by boat or onshore excursion. Similar experiences are offered for sea turtles, octopus and other marine life.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve incorporated a lot of field trips to visit some of our local nonprofits and other local businesses,” said Chrissy. “For example, we go to the Kanola Octopus Farm at the Natural Energy Lab. We also have outside speakers come to talk about the reef fish and eels. The educators at the Marine Mammal Center come and talk to the kids about monk seals and whales. It’s a really cool program.”
These hands-on experiences make a lasting impression with the youth who attend the camps. This makes their summer camp not only fun and adventurous, but educational and life changing as well.
“When our students experience all these things as children, it sets them up for potentially having a career they are passionate about in the marine sciences or diving industry,” explained Chrissy. “It’s a career they can potentially take with them around the world. If they get through their rescue diver certification before they’re 18, the next step is Divemaster, the first level of professional diving. We’ve had kids return from college (or after high school) earn their Divemaster so they can either work for us or take it to other places around the world.
One such former student is Nora Frank, who attended University of California at Santa Barbara.
“Nora went through all of our programs multiple times. She started with the Sea Camp Series and went into scuba diving, then moved onto open water and advanced classes,” said Chrissy. “She went on to study marine biology at UC Santa Barbara. For her high school project, she went out on our Pelagic Magic dive and studied different pelagic creatures. She’s just one of our more famous students who has gone on to study marine biology.”
Nora recently graduated and is now seeking career options in marine operations and management.
“Growing up with Jack’s Diving Locker helped me discover my love for the ocean and greatly contributed to my decision to pursue an aquatic biology degree at UCSB,” said Nora. “I recently graduated, and at the same time I also completed my NAUI Divemaster certification. I plan to pursue a career in marine facility and husbandry management and outreach around the Santa Barbara area. I would not be where I am today without the support and heart from everyone at Jack’s. I could not have asked for a stronger foundation for my childhood than the one that Jack’s has given me.”
“We have other kids that have gone through the camp and created life-long friendships with each other, even if their friends end up moving off island,” Chrissy said. “It’s been great watching them get together when they’re older to go diving instead of sitting home and watching TV all summer. They have something that they can do that’s physical and also really rewarding for them.”
Future goals for Jack’s Diving Locker summer programs include establishing a scholarship fund for local keiki. Chrissy hopes these future scholarships will allow interested children to learn about the ocean environment without the cost being a deterrent.
Thanks to the dedicated staff at Jack’s Diving Locker, the future looks hopeful for our oceans. With new generations of oceanographers and stewards of marine life, these environmentally conscious programs ensure we leave our planet in capable, well-educated hands. This is something we can all feel grateful for. ❖
Contact: JacksDivingLocker.com
All photos courtesy of Jacks Diving Locker
Mahalo Jack’s Diving Locker – Ocean Story Sponsor
Karen Rose
Karen Rose is a writer and journalist living on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. Her writing focuses on food, wine, travel, culture, and arts and entertainment. She holds a graduate degree in cultural anthropology and is the executive director of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii Island.
