The Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) joined forces with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration divers from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) to train citizen scientists in June of this year.
The event was conducted as Heritage Awareness Dive Seminars (HADS), which were offered throughout the state of Florida.
The seminars included dive trips on historical shipwrecks, where student divers where taught how to look for artifacts that would indicate the use of the ship, as well as help identify the wreck.
Participants also had the chance this year to become a Submerged Heritage Monitoring Scout (SHMS) through a one-day training program that includes the basics of ship construction, legal statutes regarding marine resources, archaeology, and history.
The course also involved two trips to shipwrecks. Scouts will then feed back data about changes and dangers to historical sites through their everyday diving activities.
You can find out more information about the event on the NOAA Website.
(Photo Credit: Robert Schwemmer, CINMS, NOAA)
