July Orcas Island Classes!

nwscubamom · Post by **nwscubamom** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:32 am

FREE ORCAS ISLAND PACIFIC NORTHWEST FISH AND INVERTEBRATE
IDENTIFICATION CLASSES OFFERED BY THE SEADOC SOCIETY

The SeaDoc Society is sponsoring free Pacific Northwest Fish and Invertebrate Identification classes on Orcas Island on Friday, July 28th and Saturday, July 29th, 2006. These classes are designed for SCUBA divers and will also be of interest to others who appreciate our marine ecosystem and would like to know more about the wildlife in the water. The free, adult-level classes prepare divers and snorkelers to conduct REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) marine life identification surveys in the Pacific Northwest. Participants will learn how to identify about 45 fish and 45 invertebrates.

Friday, July 28, 2006
9am – 1pm Pacific NW Fish Identification Class – West Sound Community Ctr.
1pm – 5pm Optional Dive – Departs from and returns to West Sound Dock
Saturday, July 29, 2006
9am – 1pm Pacific NW Fish Identification Class – West Sound Community Ctr.
1pm – 5pm Optional Dive – Departs from and returns to West Sound Dock

Please bring a sack lunch to eat in class, if needed, as those who are going diving will go straight from classroom to boat. Completion of the class quiz plus two dive surveys will qualify attendees as REEF level 2 surveyors. Deep Sea Charters will be operating the dives which will be $65.00 for two tank dives. Dives will happen at four sites over the two days.

Janna Nichols, of REEF, is the instructor for the classes. The REEF Survey Project allows volunteer SCUBA divers and snorkelers to collect and report information on marine fish and invertebrate populations. The data are collected using a fun and easy standardized method, and are housed in a publicly-accessible database on REEF's website (http://www.reef.org). These data are used by a variety of resource agencies and researchers.

The classes will be held at the West Sound Community Center, on Deer Harbor Road in West Sound, Orcas Island. More information including directions and parking information is available at: http://www.westsoundhall.org.

To register for the classes send email including your name, mailing address and phone to Lavonne Hull at lwhull@ucdavis.edu and indicate whether you will attend both sessions or the Fish (Friday) or Invertebrate (Saturday) session only. Please also mention if you are planning on diving, which will help track demand.

Please contact Deep Sea Charters, Captain David Patterson, 360-661-6101 or 360-658-5024, (http://deepseacruise.com/) to make reservations for the afternoon dives. Space is available for 16 divers. Tank rental is available for $10.00/day and on board air fills are available for $6.00.

For more dive information see: http://www.pnwscuba.com/critterwatchers/classes.htm

The registration deadline is July 27, 2006 and space is available on a first-come first-served basis.

Please visit http://www.seadocsociety.org to learn more about the innovative work the SeaDoc Society is doing to promote the health of our marine ecosystem and our marine wildlife.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:59 am

I'll be there Saturday!

I already contacted Lavonne by email. I'll be at the Saturday class, and the following boat dive. If there is room I may make it up for the boat dive on Friday, but I'll be spending money at UWS on Friday morning at the Divers Fair!

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 12:46 pm

I'm going to try to make it to this for the dive regardless, but I won't know if I can make it till closer to the date. Janna, if you're diving around the Seattle area before then, will you shoot me an email so I can perhaps tag along and do my Invertebrate ID specialty?