ENVIRONMENT
Taking it further
IPSAC and the Bumps in the Bay
Running branch projects can energise a dive club and keep its members fully engaged , says Jane Maddocks
Having a project that the branch can get its teeth into is a great way of giving your members a reason to keep diving with you . In November 2021 , a project entitled ‘ Bumps in the Bay ’, undertaken by the Isle of Purbeck Sub Aqua Club ( IPSAC ), won the prestigious Duke of Cambridge Award for a project that was all about looking at the geology of the eponymous ‘ bumps ’.
Reading their report , I was impressed with the paragraph that stated how much of a challenge it had been to get members enthused at first . By the end of the summer of 2020 IPSAC divers were asking excitedly about plans for the following year . The other bit that impressed was a short table looking at the number of dives cancelled through lack of interest .
The numbers demonstrated clearly that all bar one of the project dives went ahead over a two-year period . Ordinary dives had a greater cancellation rate . Enthusiasm and engagement rocks ( in both senses of the word ).
Members of IPSAC meet the Duke of Cambridge to receive their award
To read the report , go to bsac . com / BSAJTprojects . There are some cracking reports from dive clubs , detailing all sorts of ways in which they have contributed to our understanding of the underwater world , from hunting downed aircraft to looking for fossils in Norfolk , by way of examining habitat complexity to recording Roman amphorae in Croatia .
‘ Bumps in the Bay ’ is a brilliant collaboration between scientists and recreational divers . The careful development of the team ’ s understanding of what they were doing follows the best traditions of BSAC instruction - the classroom lesson , a dry run , shallow practice and then doing it at target depth . This is a project with serious science behind it .
If you then go down the entries and look for ‘ Tanks and Bulldozers ’ with Southsea SAC the focus is very different . The branch recorded , measured , photographed , and researched these remains . They involved the local community , and eventually got the tanks and bulldozers recognised as monuments of national importance .
That was 13 years ago . Now they are doing ever bigger projects , focussing on identifying some of the D-Day casualties from the Normandy beaches . The branch is strong and still growing .
If your interest is more geared towards marine life , then projects looking at tracking undulate rays , examining the habitats of black bream and Seasearch surveys of specific areas are there to inspire you . There is even a report about tracking fossils and submerged river systems in Norfolk .
These projects were all given funding by the British Sub-Aqua Jubilee Trust , so there is a certain formality with the reports . If you have a branch project , your report can be what you want it to be . It ’ s good to look back and work out what the branch has achieved , and make sure that your social media account is full of the best bits from the project days .
Branch diving projects don ’ t have to be deep . How about using the Seagrass Spotter App to record seagrass beds local to you , and get the family out diving or snorkelling , recording the species of fish and water temperature from April to October ? Shallow is good . One of the most important wrecks in the UK was found in just 11m ; perfect for involving your Ocean Divers in recording shallow water wrecks or habitats .
Now on the BSAC website , at bsac . com / projectsguide , you will find our short guide to running small branch projects . This is intended for those new to doing projects who don ’ t yet want to do the more advanced aspects of expedition planning , but just want to get out with their friends in the branch , diving with a purpose and enjoying that feeling of achievement when a plan comes together . �
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