Celebrating the Ocean with NABS

Article by Flower Gardens Banks National Marine Sanctuary

This week, sanctuary staff have been very busy hosting the National Association of Black Scuba Divers Youth Educational Summit (NABS/YES). Through this program, 24 youth from all over the country, ranging in age from 9-18, came to the Houston/Galveston area to learn about a variety of coastal and ocean topics and experience some of the local culture.

Experiences this week included learning about Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, visiting NOAA Fisheries’ sea turtle program, participating in a community marsh restoration program, seining and dip-netting at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, learning about ocean technology at OceanWorks, piloting an ROV at Moody Gardens, diving at 288 Lake and Moody Gardens, exploring the Battleship Texas, observing NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in action, touring Texas A&M University Galveston, traveling on board R/V Manta, learning about recompression chambers, exploring the tall ship Elissa, and learning to surf with the help of a local Surfrider chapter.

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