Schools

Canterbury Named First Cousteau Divers School

Students will catalog and track biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico, create wildlife guide books for the Gulf and monitor water quality through data loggers.

ST. PETERSBURG – Pierre-Yves Cousteau, son of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, announced Friday that the Canterbury School of Florida will be the first Cousteau Divers school in the world.

Cousteau Divers is an international not-for-profit organization fostering scientific programs that monitor and conserve marine biodiversity around the world, and Canterbury will now be part of this global program.

Students will catalog and track biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico, create wildlife guide books for the Gulf and monitor water quality through data loggers.

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Reflecting on his visit last fall, Cousteau said he was “amazed by the incredible facilities and the work and education” going on at the school, which also has a new SCUBA Venturing Crew, a charter under the Boy Scouts of America, a news release said.

Dr. Peter Betzer, president of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, said the relationship between Cousteau Divers and Canterbury is the result of collaboration among the City of St. Petersburg, Canterbury, scientific organizations like the Center for Ocean Technology and SRI, Tampa Bay Watch and the Pier Aquarium, and the thousands of scientists at Bayboro Harbor. 

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Betzer told students, “What is happening today will vault you onto the international stage.” 

Mac Hall, Canterbury's headmaster, announced that Canterbury’s Marine Studies Education Center (MSEC) will now be called the Cousteau Marine Studies Education Center, in honor of the marine conservation and exploration work done by the Cousteau family.

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