Liquid Conservation: Underwater Expeditions

Through our recently signed up specialist diving operator we are now able to offer schools project-based SCUBA expeditions that enable participants to get involved in vital reef survey work.

At the heart of such a trip is the excellent "Reef Check" course. This course, certified by Reef Check (a volunteer, ocean conservation organisation) enables divers to become part of the world's largest international coral reef monitoring programme.

Integrated into the practical course are lectures and briefings on marine and coral habitats that improve species identification skills. † Our dive operator compliments this with intensive buoyancy training and initial PADI training if required. †

With a sufficiently large group size (10 divers minimum) a school can then incorporate an actual reef survey into their expedition, helping marine park and coral reef managers to form a complete picture of the local reefs Äì information that is vital to a reef's long term protection. Two week expeditions are †on Tioman Island off the east coast of Malaysia.

For novice divers it is possible to get PADI qualified and conduct the Reef Check course within a two week period, but time on an actual survey would be limited. A two and a half week trip would enable pupils to go from complete diving novices to providing valuable input in a 4 or 5 day reef survey.