2.  A committed educator both inside and outside the
classroom, Lois Bruckno volunteers regularly for a
broad range of causes. She can regularly be found
participating in the many walkathons and other
urban activities organized to support numerous
environmental causes, and counts herself among the
first people to go paperless with her credit union. Lois
Bruckno is a lover of the outdoors and enjoys any
activity that gets her away from city streets, whether
it is hiking, riding her bicycle, gardening, or snorkeling.
A water sport that can be enjoyed even in a
swimming pool, snorkeling is most enjoyable when
the water is relatively clear and there is something to
see.

3.  The most important piece of snorkeling equipment is
a snorkel , a plastic tube with a flexible mouthpiece
through which a swimmer can breathe without lifting
her head from the water. A mask is also a necessary
piece of equipment for two reasons. First, it enhances
underwater visibility remarkably. Secondly, the strap
that holds the mask to the swimmer’s face also
secures the snorkel tube so that it is out of the water.
Most snorkelers also use swim fins on their feet, but
they are not a necessity.
One of the reasons snorkeling is so popular is that it
does not require a great deal of training. Even
beginners can pick it up within a few moments.

4.  Snorkelers can then swim along the surface,
face down, until they spot something at the
bottom they want to examine more closely.
They take a deep breath and swim down to
see it. When they feel themselves running short
of breath, they can return to the surface, purge
the snorkel of accumulated water, and take a
nice deep breath – all without having to lift
their head out of water. This is important
because a great deal of extra energy is spent
in the process of raising one’s head from the
water to take a breath, which causes fatigue
to set in earlier.