PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten Academy student Zakiya Dilys Peterson returns home with two specialty certificates after accomplishing the Sea Trek BVI FATHOMS Specialty Dive Program during the summer vacation. Sea Trek offers tropical adventure summer camp programs for teens in the British Virgin Islands. "I received the NAUI's Marine Heritage Awareness Certification and a Sea Trek Exclusive, NAUI's Introduction to Scientific Diving in Coral Reef Habitats" says Zakiya.
Sea Trek's FATHOMS program offers participants Focused Adventure through Hands on Marine Science in the Caribbean's U.S. and British Virgin Islands (BVI). During the 22-day voyage, Zakiya and other students live aboard a 43' sailing catamaran that serves as their mobile research station, affording them countless opportunities to study and experience the ecology and dynamics of the living laboratory that surrounds them.
"This summer experience allowed me to have fun, learn, and experiment with a lot of new and exciting things" says Zakiya.
Among the two certificates that she has obtained in this year's program, Zakiya also has received the NAUI & PADI certifications in 2013 for Master Scuba Diver, Junior Wreck Diver (external survey), Underwater Navigator, Underwater Photographer, Underwater Ecologist and Scuba Rescue Diver; and has also racked up over 95 total dives to date.
FATHOMS is based on the integration of marine science, community service and cultural interaction throughout the BVI's tropical islands and waters. In addition to marine biology and ecology, the curriculum, labs and fieldwork address aspects of marine chemistry, geology and physics, making it a truly interdisciplinary curriculum.