The British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) has partnered with Scottish environmental charity, Seawilding, to offer everyone the chance to help champion the marine environment with the new Shore Surveyor course.

 

 

Delivered by eLearning, Shore Surveyor has been designed to engage people – particularly children and young people – in the issues that face our precious marine life, as covered in Scuba Diver magazine. With a focus on the UK’s native oyster and seagrass beds, this eLearning course equips participants with the skills needed to help identify seashore-based habitats and record what they find. (photo: Seawilding/BSAC)

Both the UK’s native oyster and seagrass habitats have experienced a serious decline over the past 200 years, resulting in an estimated 95% reduction in populations. The new Shore Surveyor course ties directly into BSAC’s major new marine project, Operation Oyster, which aims to protect and restore native oyster habitats around the UK.

By the end of the course, participants can become ‘citizen scientists’ by helping to locate and record seashore areas where current or potential native oysters or seagrass populations are present. This data can then be fed into the National Marine Records Database to help scientists studying our coast as well as support future underwater surveys.

You don’t have to be a BSAC member to complete the course and no diving or snorkelling qualifications are required. The course comprises of seven modules which will introduce you to the concept of shore surveying and how to find evidence of Native oysters and seagrass.

During the course you will learn about:

  • The UK’s Native oyster and seagrass
  • The issues threatening their survival
  • Zonation and marine life habitats
  • The impact of invasive non-native species
  • How to plan and conduct a shore survey
  • The contribution of citizen science to marine restoration and how you can make a difference

This story was covered in Scuba Diver magazine and can be read here.

Further information on BSAC’s Operation Oyster can be read here.

Information on the Shore Surveyor course can be found on the BSAC website here.

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