Guest Lecture Series
Every other month, Adventure Outfitters brings local experts to the area to talk about Florida-related topics – whether it be diving or related to the Florida environment. In some areas around the states, dive clubs are more formalized but in Florida, everyone has so many activities to choose from so, we created Zendog Divers. Zendog Divers is an informal dive club for all divers, snorkelers and advocates of the ocean / waterways. Our mission is focused on local Florida diving including: safety, marine conservation and continuing dive education. We try to have a guest speaker once a month join us. If you are interested in participating in our monthly guest lecture series, please reach out to us at info@adventuretampa.com or give us a call at 813-832-6669.
We haven’t had as many, or as large, sessions this year for obvious reasons so, we have been offering them via online. We wanted to compile the last few of them for you here so, you are able to get an idea of some of the topics we have discussed. They aren’t production quality by any means but we tried to give you an idea of the types of topics and some cool information shared from them. See some of the past few guests we have had attend below:
Lionfish Invasion | Jessica Valek
On Thursday, Dec. 3, Zendog Divers held an informational session with Jessica Valek, Environmental Specialist with the Lionfish Control Team at the Florida Wildlife Commision, who went over lionfish invasion, how the public has helped and can help, FWC programs including Lionfish Removal/Awareness Day, Lionfish Challenge, Lionfish Educaiton Exhibit Program, Classroom Invastion, Harvest Programs, Outreach Booth and more. Jessica and her supervisor Alan drove all the way from Tallahasse to share the informaiton with us and had lots of awesome prizes and giveaways and no one left empty-handed.
Spearfishing Safety Seminar
On Wednesday, Nov. 18, Adventure Outfitters held a free safety seminar on spearfishing – specifically on the west coast of Florida. we went over:
- Spearfishing on a boat – private vs charter with help from Milo and Captain TJ
- Freediving perspective from Jani
- Dive planning for a spearfishing trip and tournaments
- Navigation in the Gulf. Bring your compass! we will go over a few tips and tricks using your compass in the Gulf, how the terrain looks/what it looks like and what natural navigation tricks can you use
Spearfishing should be treated as a more advanced activity and should be taken seriously. Think about it, you are multitasking, task loading, focused on a goal – getting fish and you are more than likely diving alone or in small groups. There are many benefits to spearfishing in the Gulf and it’s an activity that we can all enjoy but make sure you’re following the rules and diving safely and then, everyone wins. Remember, no fish is worth your life!
Don’t Be Jelly | Olivia Blondheim
On Oct. 29, 2020, we heard from Olivia Blondheim, an Integrative Biology Ph.D. student at the University of South Florida, where she is both a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) Fellow and a University of South Florida Presidential Fellow. Currently, her research focuses on the effect of crude oil and chemical dispersant on the feeding behaviors of jellyfish. Olivia has a B.A. in Biology and Spanish from Drew University. Olivia shared lots of information on jellies including how a jelly fish stings you by harpooning its barbs into the victim! This was our first online / hybrid event with a presentation. So, it works best to watch the presentation and use the audio from the Facebook Live event.
Below are some other presentations we have done in the past! If you know someone who would be a good fit or if you would like to be considered, please reach out to Jenny at info@adventuretampa.com or at 813-832-6669.
Talking Red Tides | Michelle Johnson
For more on what’s happening here at the shop, check out our What’s New Page on our website! To learn about events, trips or classes happening with us, please check out our Calendar or give us a call at 813-832-6669 or email us at info@adventuretampa.com.