an assistant instructor. Kids often
move through training levels with
the same group, and they stay in
touch with each other throughout
the year. It’s great to see the kids
grow up and their families reunite
at different Sea Camps. We also
started Family Dive Adventures,
where we promote kid-friendly
resorts; and my husband, Tom
Peyton, and I created Ocean
Wishes as a pay-it-forward
program for less-fortunate kids.
AD: Most instructor programs
focus on teaching adults. What
are some of the challenges of
teaching kids to dive?
Peyton:
I love teaching kids! They
are naturals in the water and are
never, never boring. They get the
concept of neutral buoyancy much
more quickly than adults do. They
have excellent open and teachable
minds. I get the biggest kick out
of watching the kids correct their
parents, hearing them say stuff
such as, “Stop using your hands. No
bicycling….”
AD: What else goes into making
Kids Sea Camp a great learning
experience for families?
Peyton:
Educational activities are
a huge part of our program. In our
seminars we cover the full range
of issues from plastics in the ocean
to shark finning. A few years ago I
introduced photography programs
to Kids Sea Camp. The participants
love to document their dives, and
the kids who are interested in
photography show much greater
interest in the reef. Also I think our
photography programs force kids
to work on buoyancy control. After
learning about how fragile coral is,
no one wants to damage it.
AD: So families bond during dive
training as well as educational
programs?
Peyton:
Absolutely. I feel that
families who have participated in
Sea Camp share a common thread,
which includes love for diving and
a sense of wonder and respect for
the oceans. I believe that my job,
my obligation to the large and
impressionable audience I reach
each year, is to educate them about
the effects humans have on the
planet, especially the oceans. We
had an experience in the Galapagos
a few months ago that really
impressed everyone. Way out in
those remote islands we cleaned
a significant amount of plastic
from the beaches. A baby sea lion
even presented me with a plastic
bread bag! Kids and adults were
totally amazed to see plastic fouling
those uninhabited islands. Hearing
about it on television isn’t enough.
Showing them in real time how far
civilization’s impact reaches is one
of my goals and my duty.
— Maurine Shimlock
Margo and Jennifer
Peyton fly the Kids Sea
Camp colors during a
shore dive off Buddy Dive
Resort in Bonaire
in 2012.
Opposite, from top:
Margo Peyton enjoys a
Fijian celebration during
Kids Sea Camp in 2009.
Kids dive in the calm
waters off Laguna Beach
Resort, Utila, during a
Kids Sea Camp week
in 2014.
THE
Luxury
LIVE ABOARD
of the Bahamas
1-888-927-3471 •
AC 2x2 Ad_Layout 1 9/16/13 3:37 PM Page 1
REEFS
•
WRECKS
•
CAVES
•
SHARKS
•
DOLPHINS
•
FRIENDLY STAFF
•
1
ST
CLASS FACILITY
DIVE grand bahama WITH
Call 1-888-927-3481
Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas
unexso
|
25
