This was an out of school day ed-venture. Our group of 25 loaded into a small chartered bus and headed south to tspend the day with COASTAL EXPEDITIONS doing a paddle through Shem Creek and into the Charleston Harbor. The guides from C E put all participants through a paddle lesson and carefully explained the proper use of the touring kayaks. They then gave a briefing on our paddle route and what different plants and animals we might encounter in the estuary. Students and adults were drawn into open questions and discussion about the importance of the harbor and the critical elements that create the habitat there. The team was greated by dolphins on the way out to Crab Bank Island where we left our kayaks and searched the beach for fossils and sharks teeth, learned to toss cast nets, and drug through the surf with a seine net to collect critters and shells. It was a great way to spend the day making new friends and learning science without a book or desk involved.

This dive ed-venture took 3 new divers, and one member of the A TEAM to the springs of west centra Florida to log one night dive and two cavern dives. the night dive was done at Weeki Wachee Springs with the divers begining with a beach entry in the darkness at about 10:00 p.m. From the shallow beach area, they surface swam to about a 10 foot depth and then decended to the sand/silt bottom. From there, they followed the bottom on scuba to the staging platform. Once all were comfortable, they explored within the spring head to a depth of about 45 feet. Dive time was 35 minutes with water temp at 74 degrees. The next day all divers entered both Devil's Den and Blue Grotto to complete a 40 minute dive time at each site. Devil's Den is a land entrance to an underground cavern which recesses to about 100 feet behind the rim with our depth there maxing at 35 feet. Blue Grotto is a surface entrance cavern that drops to 60 feet in the open, and also has a 100 foot deep horseshoe swim around. these divers only used the open cavern where they examined fossils, explored the dive bell, and searched the rock areas for fresh water fish. Both sites have constant water temp of 72 degrees. New divers were Chandler Cosgrove and Zack Smith, with Alex Zinni, and A TEAM diver Grayson Romstadt. Dive Camp was lead by BJ Ramer, Founder & Director of TEAM ECCO / TEAM ECCO Divers.

This was a TEAM ECCO program done under contract for Hendersonville Elementary Bonus Learning Time. We spent the week learning about many of the different animals that call the ocean home. Students had lessons on the families of invertibrates, fish and sharks, sea turtles and dolphins and whales. Each child designed and painted a hat that showed his or her desire to save the seas. We made collages of animal images and a large chalk mural was done on the retaining wall outside. Patrick Sullivan from the Times News even came and took photos - which then went into the paper! Our week ended with all the children getting the opportunity to open a freshwater oyster and find the pearl hidden inside.

This ED-Venture takes TEAM ECCO to Ripley's Aqurium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, TN. After checking in, our students observed the last ray feeding and had pictures made with the diver. then they went up to Ray Bay where the diver brought the rays around for each child to touch and experience. The aquarium staff then led a fun game where the children competed against each other to see who knew more about the marine world. After the aqurium closed to the public, we had a pizza party and then a relly cool scavenger hunt which took us from tank to tank and all through the aqurium displays. We even got the chance to disect squid! That night we unrolled our sleeping bags right in the main tunnel for the deep sea tank so we could watch the hundreds of fish and sharks, rays, and sea turtles swim and settle right over our heads! The next morning after breakfast, we did an official tour of the aqurium, drew our favorite fish and shark on postcards which we mailed from Ripley's, and siad our goodbyes. This trip is always a TEAM ECCO favorite!

These are photos of the top 10 TEAM ECCO divers on their adventure to Grand Bahama Island to dive with the expert staff of UNECSO. These 10 divers compared and contrasted the Bahamian reefs with those in the Florida Keys. The most amazing difference was the type and size of sponges. The students noted that there were more sponges than coral at our sites and less diversity of fish. A unique experience for them was the meeting of lion fish, which are not a native species to these waters. It is thought that these fish may have once bee in personal tanks, and then simply released onto the reefs when they outgrew their lving space. the lion fish is now under study as an invasive species. The A TEAM participated in discussion about the change in the food chain and in breeding with the lion fish now in the reef community. These young divers also did behavioral observations on dolphin interaction and on sharks during an actual shark feed. Both of these dives took place in 50 feet of water. the divers were given set behaviors to perform with the dolphins. Everything went well until a group of 5 nurse sharks decided to join in the play. The sharks ranged from 5- 9 feet and were quite attraced to a coule of the divers. One large female even followed us up the 50 foot ascention line. The shark dive was outstanding. The A TEAM was right there up close and personal with all sizes of black tips circling in and out and over and through the group. Everyone was in awe of the passive beauty of these magnificent animals. All divers were asked to write a short paper stating their imressions, and conclusions of human impact and interaction with these big fish. Michael Ramer and Morgan Walker, who hold their Advanced PADI cards, were invited to return and do personal training with Cristina Zapatos.

REEF CAMP is designed for students in grades 6-8. It is a week long program that teaches marine science using total immersion classes and field trips. REEF CAMP is done in conjuction with MarineLab at the Marine Research and Development Foundation site in Key Largo, Florida.

This program is for people interested in scuba diving but who want the chance to check it out before commiting to a full certification. Divers are introduced to scuba equipment in the comfort of a pool and given the chance to play frisbee and torpedo, to do flips and swim through hoops. Each diver is carefully monitored and given the chance to dive at their personal level of comfort. This is program is suitable for ages 9 and higher and is a great group activity or family adventure. Fees cover gear and pool rental. Some medical restrictions apply. Visit the UPCOMING EVENTS tab to register for the next DIVE DIVE DIVE.

For this adventure, students from several local schools and home school associations traveled to Crystal River, FLorida. While there lessons were done on both fresh and salt water habitats and the communities found within them. A large focus was placed on the study of endangered manatees and the conservation laws that protect them. Manatees were observed in both captive and natural settings. An afternoon was spent on educational boats that took us out into the Gulf of Mexico to do animal colleciton and identification. We had a special program with the ladies from HOPE who brought in several birds of prey. ART! was done under the direction of Nora Mosrie which tied our science lessons into pieces of visual art. A morning tour of Homosassa Springs Wildlife Refuge was incorporated into this adventure.

This adventure traveled to Crystal river, Fl. to study and encounter endangered manaees. The students had lessons in fresh water habitats, aquifer systems, fish ID, manatee anatomy and conservation, salt water specimen collection, water quality and mangroves. DRAMA! was done under direction of Denise Purcell and ended in the students making short conservation commercials. All students were responsible for workbook materials, journaling, and participating n open lesson focused discussions. Dive certifiction was completed by 5 students under the direction of Robbie Harvey of Bermuda Triangle Dive Shop, Asheville, NC. Marine science lessons were lead by BJ Ramer, Director of TEAM ECCO, and by the staff at Marine Science Station.

Students from Hendersonville and RS Central High Schools teamed to discover and study environments and communities in Florida fresh and salt water ecosystems. Days were spent learning about aquifers, algae, filtering grasses, limestone formation, typing spring heads, noting invasive species, observing species dominance, and discussing conservation laws. Students participated in direction observations of endangered manatees while snorkeling, which often resulted in animal initiated interactions. We even had a question and answer session with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs. Biology staff from the Marine Science station lead classeson boats out in the Gulf of Mexico where we ran tri-nets and collected specimens for evening labs. We finished the trip with a stop at Silver Springs to view the aquifer systems while riding the glassbottom boats. Special activities were led by Byron Collins (photography), Jay Tustin ( diving & underwater photography), and Nora Mosrie ( ART!).

SASY Guppies is a program that uses the SASY (sustained air snorkeling for youth) gear designed for students in grades 1-4. SASY is a lifejacket style vest with a small air tank attached to the back and a standard diver regulator attached to a hose. This design allows the user to "float" on the water surface while breathing through a regulator as a scuba diver would and wearing a mask to view all that is under the water's surface. SASY is done for students in Mrs. Tribbey's class at hendersonville Elem. School each spring. SASY is available to other groups. donations are greatly appreciated.

Discover scuba adventure at the Henderson County YMCA

Divers to Weeki Wachee, King, and Blue Grotto springs.
Unfortunately, most all photos were lost during power outage while developing.

Trip to St. Augustine, Florida to learn about dolphin conservation.

An evening of diving at the YMCA.

Kids and adults kayak Folly Creek in search of dolphins.

Students from Hendersonville High School travel to Crystal River, Florida to study manatees and the inhabitants of the natural springs.

Travel to Crystal River, Florida to study endangered manatees.

Trip to Crystal River, Florida to study manatees and then to Weeki Wachee Spring to meet mermaids and try scuba diving.

Nov. 12, 2007: Adventure to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, GA. Grades 3-6

A TEAM Divers to MRDF and Pennecamp State Park

A week long adventure combining science, history, and ART!

Using the SASY snorkel units in our portable pool to view fish and turtles and frogs - like real divers!