Donnie Reid - TBA 2023, Human Exploration in Deep Space; NASA's Pavilion Lake Research Project

Donnie has been a SCUBA diver for over 30 years. During much of that time he has been intimately involved in the BC dive industry holding such positions as Director in the Underwater Council of BC, President of the Dive Industry Association of BC, Diving Safety Officer for the Vancouver Aquarium and lead for the last two Ocean Pioneer Award’s Dinners. Through his photography he became involved in numerous expeditions and research projects that have led to a Fellowship in the Explorers’ Club and Member of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.

Past Events

Howard Robins - August 12th 2023, Turning Wrecks into Reefs

Howie is one of the original founding members of the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC) since its inception in 1989. After several successful projects he assumed the role of President in 2006. Howie has been an active diver since 1973. "It's been an exciting and interesting adventure." Tonight, his presentation will explain the processes that go into the making of artificial reefs and the many details that are a part of the adventure.

Samantha Schwann- July 8th 2023, Diving with Sharks, Researching and Photographing Apexs Predators

Samantha Schwann is an award-winning underwater photographic artist whose work concentrates on ecologically unique areas of the ocean, in a thoughtful approach to an increasingly urgent global conversation. She began diving in 1994 off the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada and progressed to earn instructor ratings in both recreational and technical diving. Schwann’s artistic background was in sculpture (stone, paper, metal) prior to an introduction to photography in 2010, where she began with landscapes and abstracts. Her work is dedicated to ocean conservation since the acquisition of an underwater housing in 2015. Schwann’s work has exhibited in Canada, the USA and internationally. Her focus on shark conservation led to an appearance on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week (“Sharks with Tracey Morgan”). In 2022, she was elected as a Member National into The Explorer’s Club, a professional multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the scientific exploration of land, sea, and space.

Kirk Krack - Nov 10th 2022, Technical Freediving and Avatar 2

Kirk is a global leader in the field of diving and exploration. Since 2017, Kirk has been the trainer and consultant for the cast and crew of the Avatar sequels by James Cameron. The production of the Avatar sequel was unique in the way in which so much of it was filmed underwater. Actors had to learn to hold their breath for extended periods in order to complete takes. Technical freediving allowed actors to use oxygenated mixtures breathed at the surface for safety, reducing exhaustion and helping with breath-hold comfort.

During this time, the Avatar team completed over a quarter-million freedives with their largest scene involving 26 people underwater on breath-hold times as long as 4.5min. No hypoxic events or black-outs occurred due to 'technical freediving' procedures being used.