PORTS Program Takes Over Lake Tahoe with Virtual Underwater Programs and More

In mid-October PORTS Program joined the California State Parks Dive Team for a “Total Tahoe Takeover.” Working with Sierra District interpretive staff, PORTS offered multiple livestreamed programs from Emerald Bay, D. L. Bliss, and Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Parks. The week’s grand finale included an hour-long underwater PORTS Home Learning Program watched live by hundreds of viewers tuning in from home. PORTS kicked off the week on Tuesday, October 6, with an underwater program recorded live by a Trident ROV (remote-operated vehicle) with help from the Dive Team and SoFar Ocean. The livestream featured footage of State Parks divers exploring a shipwreck near the pier at Emerald Bay State Park, along with an interview with John Foster, retired senior state archaeologist and cultural resource manager, who is now a current State Parks volunteer. A state treasure in his own right, Foster shared an abundance of historical information and institutional knowledge with the interpreters and Dive Team throughout the week. The next day, the Total Tahoe Takeover operation shifted to D. L. Bliss State Park, where divers explored Rubicon Point while the interpreters had a field day livestreaming on PORTS social media. Interpreter Jeremy Lin interviewed State Parks Dive Safety Officer Kenneth Kramer about the services the State Parks Dive Team provides to our parks and state. Lin then hosted his now-famous “Nature Pop Quiz” program, testing the knowledge of Interpreter Kristen Morris and Wildlife Manager Sarinah Simons in a rapid-fire round of “Grizzly Bear or Bear Grylls?” Later that afternoon, viewers enjoyed a livestream with Interpreter Evan Waterhouse as he walked through a forested area of the park and described tree diversity in the Lake Tahoe Basin.