PHILIPSBURG – Nature Foundation will once again start its popular Nature Education Snorkel Club Program from Wednesday, July 11, to Saturday, August 6.
The Nature Foundation, in a continued effort to educate and stress the important role the youth plays in the future of nature conservation on this island, established the Snorkel Club program with the aim of educating local youth in both marine and terrestrial nature conservation. Children will be given 10 lessons with each lesson consisting of both theory and practical elements.
Lessons will include snorkeling skills, marine naturalist courses, and introduction to SCUBA diving, hiking tours, information on trees and terrestrial nature conservation and a special closing activity. Children who attend the Snorkel Club are given a copy of the How to Snorkel Manual, a Nature Foundation t-shirt, Fish Identification cards and wetsuits for sun protection, all of which they can keep.
An extra activity this year centered on Nature Education is a program focused on at-risk and troubled youth. “There is a whole group of kids that come from a troubled background, but that are fascinated by our nature and would love to get exposed to nature and nature conservation. Oftentimes, these children are forgotten when it comes to environmental education activities and therefore we wanted to specifically include them in this year’s program,” commented Nature Foundation Manager Tadzio Bervoets.
This year’s Snorkel Club was made possible through the support of the Scuba Shop, Divi Little Bay Beach Resort and Dive Adventures, who teamed up with the business community in organizing the annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt.
Interested parents and adults can contact the Nature Foundation at 544-4267 or via email: info@naturefoundationsxm.org for information on both programs.
The Snorkel Club for kids will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 9:00am to 11:00am, and costs only NAf. 25 for the 10 lessons to cover the end event. Those who wish to sponsor a child from a less fortunate background are urged to do so by contacting the Nature Foundation. Parents are urged to register their children early due to limited space.
