The following  is a blog entry from Chuck Dowell, a certified Beautiful Oceans Science Instructor. Chuck is organizing an eleven day coral reef exploration in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and Beautiful Oceans Coral Reef Adventures. If yo you are in search for a fun edutainment dive or snorkel trip in July, this may be a great thing to do. I invite you to download the schedule at the end of this post - it truly looks fantastic!:

Hello everyone.  My name is Chuck Dowell and I am Beautiful Oceans Science Instructor # CD541201.  I would like to share some information about an eleven day exploration of coral reefs, whale sharks and other ocean life, mangroves, island flora and fauna and wildlife in Utila, Honduras that will take place July 1 through 11, 2009.  In an effort to appeal to a wider range of persons, the trip is being offered in three formats.

First, it is can be taken as a “for credit” course offered by the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) entitled “Field Studies in Ecology”.  This may appeal to current undergraduate and graduate students who need additional college credits to complete their degree requirements.  Course fees include 3 credits tuition, round trip air transfers, over night double occupancy lodging at Utila Lodge for ten nights, three meals daily, daily snorkel/dive excursions, Island Tours, Whale Shark Certification, Beautiful Oceans Coral Reef Architecture and Organisms and Coral Reef Ecosystem and Food Web course materials and Certifications and all daily on-island educational sessions.  Daily educational sessions will be conducted by Dr. Rob Davis, director of the Whale Shark and Ocean Research Center (WSORC).  Airfare to and from the island, departure tax, reef fees and boat crew tips are not included.  The cost for this option is $3858.00.

Second, the trip can be taken as a “non-credit” course offered by the Pennsylvania State University.  It includes all of the above but does not include the three college credits.  The cost for this option is $3145.00.

Finally, for the diver only, the trip can be taken without any of the educational sessions.  It includes round trip air transfers, over night double occupancy lodging at Utila Lodge for ten nights, three meals daily, three dives daily, two night dives and Whale Shark Certification.  Airfare to and from the island, departure tax, reef fees and boat crew tips are not included.  The cost for this option is $1652.00.

Contact me at cdowell@hummelstown.net for details.

We are fast approaching a March 27th deadline for determining whether there is enough interest to keep this opportunity available.  If you are interested, please don’t wait!

To download the flyer, click here.

To download more information about the Penn University field trip, including Beautiful Oceans curriculum, click here.