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Educational treat at Trunk Island
Thursday, June 14, 2018

Warwick Academy’s Eco Club students Luke Foster, Grace Flannery, Katya Williamson, Jibril Taylor, Isabel Hughes, Roxy Crockwell-Laurent and Rip Crockwell-Laurent), enjoyed a joyful and enlightening trip to Trunk Island, Harrington Sound. 


KBB celebrates World Oceans Day
Friday, June 08, 2018

In celebration of World Oceans Day, Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB) has lined up several events for June 7 — 9. 


Prevent plastic pollution
Thursday, June 07, 2018

Today, June 8th, is World Oceans Day, and the theme for this year is the prevention of plastic pollution to encourage healthy oceans. On World Oceans Day, people around our blue planet celebrate and honour the ocean, which connects us all.


Ministry On Sightings Of Hammerhead Shark
Wednesday, June 06, 2018

Following the most recent shark sighting at Shelly Bay, the Ministry said it is likely the same one as seen over the past few months and said that while there is no need for alarm, “under no circumstances should anyone attempt to approach or handle the shark in any way.”


Expert: hammerhead no threat to humans
Tuesday, June 05, 2018

A six-foot hammerhead shark spotted cruising close to the shore is unlikely to be a threat to humans, marine experts said yesterday.



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All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!

Students relish North Rock adventure
Royal Gazette
Monday, November 06, 2017

Simon Jones
Published Nov 6, 2017 at 8:00 am (Updated Nov 6, 2017 at 6:05 am)

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Team effort: students from the Impact Mentoring School take a selfie out
at sea before, above, preparing to dive in

“Sharks, just look out for sharks when you’re out there.”

They may have been just winding each other up, but the ten students from the Impact Mentoring School entered the waters off North Rock with a grain or two of nervous energy.

Not because of the sharks, because there weren’t any, but because for some it was the first time they had ever visited North Rock.

And none, even the three teachers that accompanied them, had ever given the sport of freediving a go.

But they all did, some even reached the 35ft marker and enjoyed an experience they’ll remember for the rest of their life; all thanks to the Bermuda Zoological Society’s Kids on the Reef programme.

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Team effort: Relaxing on the boat

Thousands of secondary public school students have already gone through a two-day educational programme that culminates in a trip to North Rock and a chance to freedive and swim alongside parrot fish and stunning coral reefs.

“I’d never been to North Rock before,” said 15-year-old Maasai Wilson. “But it is breathtakingly beautiful, and I even saw a barracuda.

“I’d never freedived before today either so I was pretty pleased to get almost to the bottom of the line. We learnt a lot about the techniques for breathing, which was a tough skill to master.”

Antonio Carvelho added: “This has been a whole new experience for me; I’ve never been out here before.

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Team effort: deep in thought

 “I was nervous at first, but when we got out there and warmed up, it got really decent. Freediving is a hard skill, but I made it down to the bottom despite all the pressure I was feeling on my ears.

“It’s been like a life lesson. The best bit was getting out on the water today, I’ve enjoyed it very much.”

Last spring, scores of middle school pupils took part in the XL Catlin-sponsored Kids on the Reef Programme, while in the autumn the BZS project was rolled out again with the help of the Neil Burnie Foundation.

The Neil Burnie Foundation still provides the fall funding, while XL Catlin had also continued its support of the initiative.

A group of middle school pupils from Impact Mentoring completed the two-day course last month, while the high school students headed out to North Rock on Wednesday.

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Taking the plunge: none of the students had freedived before

They were joined by Dr Alex Amat, the BZS youth programme co-ordinator, who organises the project, and South African freediver Beth Neale who provided tuition on the sport.

Impact Mentoring’s director of academics Raj Goodewardener told The Royal Gazette: “This is the first year that we were asked by BZS to take part in Kids on the Reef and we jumped at the opportunity.

“It has been a fantastic experience for the boys. It’s not all about academics, boys especially need hands-on, relevant experiences outside the classroom to help them learn.

“With the Kids on the Reef programme, they can take an experience away that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.”

Student Stephan Paynter, 17, added: “I just loved being in the ocean. I hate being stuck in the classroom, so this has been great.”