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In-Person: Diving with a Purpose

Master Scuba Diver Trainer Kramer Wimberley will discuss the work of Diving With a Purpose to document and preserve historic slave shipwreck sites. Also, explore DWP's efforts to monitor coral reefs.

Presented by: Kramer Wimberley, Master Scuba Diver Trainer, Archaeology Diver, and Coral Reef Conservationist. Also known as the lead dive instructor and Board Member of Diving with a Purpose (DWP).

Diving with a Purpose (DWP) is a leading international organization that provides education and training programs, mission leadership, and project support services for submerged heritage preservation and conservation projects worldwide with a focus on the African Diaspora.

DWP trains experienced divers, including youth, to become underwater archaeology advocates. Through the program, divers are able to assist in the historical documentation and preservation of artifacts and wreck sites. The program helps to perform a congressionally-mandated condition assessment of archaeological sites within the Park’s boundaries. DWP performs extensive underwater archaeological documentation of these shipwrecks, surveys their condition and develops detailed maps of the wreck sites. The program also attempts to interpret and understand the historical context in which the ships existed.

DWP believes it is important to document these historical sites while they still exist. The sites are subject to an ever-changing environment both man-made and natural. Sites have been looted for their valuable artifacts and damaged by storms and time on the ocean floor. The shipwreck data collected serves as a vital educational resource for local communities that will tell the story of these vessels and the role they played in the nation’s maritime heritage. Documenting these sites allows a rich history to be shared for generations to come.

DWP CARES is a citizen science-based initiative that teaches recreational divers the importance of the delicately balanced ecosystem that is the coral reefs and the effect of human impact on that ecosystem.  We train participants to identify and document the indicators of a healthy coral reef through reef monitoring.  Our participants are conducting surveys of reef fish, invertebrates and substrates over 5 years to assess the change in the ecosystem over time.

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