‘Jr Scientists In The Sea’ gives South Florida kids an opportunity to learn how to scuba dive and protect the ocean

Would you like to learn to scuba dive and help save the ocean A free project is turning divers into coral crusaders s Heather Walker shows us how in this Spotlight On the surface it looks like any other dive class But these students aren t just learning to breath under water they are training to rebuild the ocean floor Noah Fernandez I ve constantly perpetually loved the water Noah Fernandez grew up in Miami He spent the bulk of his childhood in the water swimming snorkeling and exploring Noah Fernandez All the reefs and the fish in the water It s just it s beautiful His dream was to go deeper Literally and become certified to scuba dive Noah Fernandez We had been wanting to get certified for a really long time me and my entire family But that dream doesn t come cheap Between the training and the gear it can cost thousands of dollars So his parents started looking for other options and determined Jr Scientists In The Sea or JSIS Les Burke This was a way for me to engage kids before they got into any kind of trouble Les Burke started the organization He s a former lawyer who handled juvenile cases He also has a deep love for the ocean The nonprofit gives young people who wouldn t normally have the opportunity a way to earn their scuba certification for free In exchange they learn how to protect and restore South Florida s coral reefs the third largest barrier reef system in the world Les Burke We re engaging our the greater part precious reservoir to take care of our most of endangered stock Noah Fernandez That is literally one of the coolest trade-offs ever It sounded a little boring but it s super cool when you are physically doing it it s something you have to experience The students learn how to clean restore and even plant new coral while also setting themselves up for success Les Burke Life-changing there have been students where I don t have a clue of where I am going or what I am going to do with my life and now all of a sudden I m being offered a full ride scholarship and this has happened Noah is still figuring out his future but his mom is happy they revealed JSIS Mailin Perez It makes me very proud of them The things that they are learning the experiences that they are gaining they can t do in a classroom at the same time we are doing a little bit for the Earth She is so inspired she decided to join too Soon the whole family will be diving together Mailin Perez It s a beautiful activity that hopefully gets bigger A family hobby turned into a shared mission to protect South Florida s reefs and preserve them for the future Heather Walker News If you know of a person place or group that you think we should highlight email us at spotlight wsvn com