Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/shark-camp/

The University of Rhode Island is offering a shark camp that’s free of charge to high school students from disadvantaged communities.

The week-long camp gives the students a chance to learn about the world of marine biology in a way that they otherwise may never get to experience.

Professor Brad Wetherbee, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Rhode Island, founded the camp in 2018.

Not only does it introduce kids to interesting fish, but also to the possibilities of a university education.

Some of the students have never been on a boat, some had never gone finishing, and some have never even been to an ocean. Now, they get to do all three!

The program began when Wetherbee realized that most years his first-year classes lacked diversity.

“One of the reasons for this trend is obviously a lack of opportunities that they had when they’re younger,” he said. “They just don’t have them. When we had the first campers, that was pretty obvious. These are kids from Providence. Some of them had never been to the beach before. They’ve never been on a boat for fishing. They’ve never even been to the ocean. That’s who we’re targeting, and the idea is to expose them to experiences they wouldn’t get otherwise. That’s the whole premise behind this.”

Their journey begins in Wickford, Rhode Island, as the fishing charter heads out on Narragansett Bay. The crew drops the research vessel’s huge net, and they begin dragging for sea life.

The catch includes all different sea creatures, including dogfish sharks, striped sea robins, American lobsters, and sting rays, among many others. The students get to take turns holding all of the creatures while they learn all about them and measure them.

The students get so excited to be hands-on with the sea creatures in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

At the end of the day, all of the fish and sea creatures are carefully released back into the ocean.

Learn more about the shark camp and see the incredible things the students get to experience in the video below:

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog