Educational Programs

Combining the fascinating worlds of marine biology and photography, Heather Perry offers a range of opportunities for those interested in learning more about the marine environment. You can bring the Undersea Experience to your special interest group or classroom, complete with slide shows and tales from the field, featuring a variety of popular marine issues. See images from above and below the waves in some of the most remote regions of the planet, or learn about your favorite marine creatures from someone who’s seen them in the wild. Each session features a slide talk discussing different marine species and their survival strategies, ecological concerns facing the ocean environment, and personal experiences with exotic species and "getting the shot".

• Discover the Secret Sea: An Interdisciplinary Workshop for Students grades 3-12

An exciting workshop combining different disciplines to build appreciation for the majesty of the world’s oceans. In class periods over two days, the sea is examined through the eyes of science, technology, cultural studies and language arts, and students are encouraged to interact and ask questions. This Workshop can be adapted for students of all ages, and has produced fantastic literary work from kids in 3rd grade through high school. Below is a general overview of how the program is conducted.

• Part l:
  Introduction to the Undersea Experience.
  Through a slide-talk presentation, we discuss the components of an ecosystem and apply them to a tropical reef habitat. Topics include survival strategies and various symbiotic relationships.  We examine "Terrors of the Deep", and learn to discern between myth and fact. Finally a "Jewels of the Sea" session, followed by time for students’ questions.
• Part 2:
  The Tools I Use-
  Science and Technology. Students are introduced to underwater camera equipment and SCUBA equipment. We discuss a few rules of diving and how they are governed by the laws of physics, followed by the diver’s responsibility in the ocean-- environmental awareness. A hands-on session gives students a chance to try on some equipment and breath from a regulator under close supervision.
• Part 3:
  On Expedition-
  Cultural Experiences. Students learn what’s involved in researching and preparing for an expedition, and what it’s like to travel solo, based on Heather’s experiences. Next we visit the Islands of Micronesia, above and below, through a slide-talk presentation. Students discover the wild Mantas of Yap, the W.W.II wrecks of Truk Lagoon, and how different cultures live. Finally, we explore the trials and tribulations of "getting the shot".
• Part 4:
  Abstract Images-
  Creative writing Project. Students view slides of textures, colors and patterns of the sea. Each student is assigned an image and writes a few sentences conveying feeling or symbolism. "Poems" are read aloud by students during a sign-off slide show for parents and friends.

• Extended Program: For high school students, an additional experience called Discover SCUBA may be added to the workshop. In this PADI (an international SCUBA certification agency) approved course, students have a chance to try SCUBA equipment in a pool, under the supervision of Heather as a SCUBA Instructor. This is an opportunity for students (and teachers!) to see what it’s like to breath underwater, and decide if they would like to become certified SCUBA divers.

• Courses for Adult Education - The Undersea Experience: Discover the Secret Sea

Have you seen the sights beneath the ocean waves?  If not, prepare to be amazed by the wonders of the deep in this Undersea Experience. If you’re already an experienced SCUBA diver, take a look at some fascinating little creatures that you may have missed on your last dive. Through the art and science of underwater photography, learn about some of the exotic inhabitants of two unique ocean habitats, and the strategies they employ to survive in their environments.

• Part I:  The Tropical Coral Reef
• Part II:  In the Temperate Zone

• The Undersea Travel Log: The Islands of Micronesia

The Undersea Experience continues in the remote islands of Micronesia. Located in the Pacific north of Australia, these tropical islands have to offer some of the most unique culture and history in the world. The diversity is even more rich just off shore, where an abundance of marine life has earned these islands a rating of "Underwater Wonder of the World". Examine some of the sea’s most exotic creatures, in places few people even knew existed. Find out why this region of the Pacific is so species rich as compared to the Caribbean, and how marine life has continued to flourish after the underwater devastation wrought by the Second World War.

• Part I: The Republic of Palau--The Underwater Wonder of the World
• Part II: The Mantas of Yap and the WWII Wrecks of Truk Lagoon
• Part III: Micronesia from Above--Topside Culture

• The Undersea Travel Log: Discover Galapagos

In 1845, Charles Darwin said of the Galapagos Islands: The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention.

Attention we will give them, on this visual journey to the Enchanted Isles of Galapagos, where we will visit a unique collection of wildlife, including sea lions, Blue-footed Boobies and Giant Tortoises.  Here, where tropical species mix with those from temperate waters in wild conflict, species variation from island to island has left us with a map to our evolutionary past. Come in for a close look at the islands and animals, some found no where else on the planet, who inspired Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection.