Hi, my name is Zarain Erasmus, and I am a fourth-year international student from Aruba at Bishop's University, Canada.

This summer, I have the opportunity to learn how to dive scientifically, as my passion is marine ecology & conservation. This opportunity is an internship provided by my university to teach students how to dive and conserve ecological systems by removing invasive species from lakes, bogs, and ponds. The invasive species is the Eurasian milfoil which harms the native plants of the area.

With this internship, I can acquire the experience I need to transition into my career in marine ecology.

For this internship, I have completed most of my medical diving evaluations & began my training for diving.

Unfortunately, they failed to mention ahead of time that the internship provides no diving equipment or gear, and as a student, it is more complicated to budget and arrange that financially. That is because it is around 2500-4000 CAD for diving gear.

Diving gear includes:

It truly saddens me that I might not be able to have the opportunity to dive due to this financial roadblock as I am completing my medical diving certification.

With that being said, any donations or share is deeply appreciated, knowing that all of it will be going into my future in Canada.