Coral Reef Eco Training & Consulting
Restoration Diver Certification
Reef Guru Diver Program
INSTRUCTORS
Are you a SCUBA Instructor, Divemaster or snorkel guide with a passion for marine conservation? Perhaps you're looking for an interesting and exciting course to add to your teaching schedule or just want to give back to your local reefs. Then we want to welcome you in to the Reef Guru family as a Reef Guru Instructor and train you to teach our Restoration Diver and Conservation Diver courses. Together we can build Reefs For The Future!
1. Prerequisites for teaching the courses through SCUBA: you must hold an active SCUBA Instructor or Divemaster certification from any training agency
Prerequisites for teaching the courses through snorkel: you must be a competent snorkeller with snorkel guiding experience
2. If you are employed at a dive/snorkel facility with access to coral reefs, talk to your employer about them becoming a Reef Guru Partner Facility
3. Your dive/snorkel facility will undergo the Partner Facility Set-Up program, which includes Reef Guru Instructor Training & certification
4. Upon certification as a Reef Guru Instructor, you can teach the two courses that make up the Diver Program at any Reef Guru Partner Facility.
What are the benefits?
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You can be proactive in conserving & rebuilding your local reefs
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Share your passion for coral & reefs with your customers
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Stop teaching the same old SCUBA courses, do something fun and exciting!
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Increase your knowledge of coral biology, threats to reefs, restoration theory and methodologies
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Boost your resume with an interesting new skill and certification
How to become a Reef Guru Instructor
Instructor Training
The Reef Guru Instructor Training and certification is an online course consisting of presentations and videos with quizzes to test your new knowledge.
Within the course you learn basic coral biology, growth form identification, threats to reefs, and extensive coral restoration theory and methodologies. You also learn about the two courses, Restoration Diver and Conservation Diver, and how to teach them.
By the end of the course, you will be knowledgeable in coral restoration practices and confident to teach our Reef Guru Diver Program! We even send you an Instructor Pack, with certification card and an Instructor Booklet to refresh your new knowledge when needed and to refer to when teaching the courses!
Instructor Costs
Instructor training and certification costs £100 per person, however, when a new Partner Facility signs up with Reef Guru we include one Instructor certification in the Facility set-up fees.
A small Instructor membership fee of £30 applies annually, so that we can ensure only keen and active Instructors are teaching our courses - just one way for us to ensure quality control of our teaching standards.
WHAT WILL YOU BE INSTRUCTING?
:The Restoration Diver & Conservation Diver courses
Once you are certified as a Reef Guru Instructor and your dive/snorkel centre has its coral nursery and any desired artificial reefs in place, you are ready to start teaching the Reef Guru Diver Program courses and watch your coral restoration efforts expand and your success grow (literally!).
Our Diver Program consists of two courses, the flagship Restoration Diver course and the shorter, complimentary Conservation Diver course. Both courses comprise a theory component and a practical dive/snorkel component. Participants can complete the theory course as a stand alone educational course or as a pre-cursor to conducting the practical course with a Reef Guru partner facility. Participants can complete the online theory course at home before arriving at your dive centre, or you can direct them to complete the online theory course as they sit poolside sipping a cocktail! The theory courses comprise online presentations, quizzes and videos and a pack is sent to participants with a Diver Information Booklet and waterproof coral ID prompt cards to use on the dives. They are then ready to get hands-on with the restoration dives, lead by your Instructor!
RESTORATION DIVER
A 2 day, 4 dive course, the Restoration Diver exposes the diver to the full array of restoration activities.
ONLINE THEORY
1. Coral Reefs Importance and Threats: An introduction to what corals are, their morphology and the local and global threats they face.
2. Coral Identification: Recognise the difference between hard & soft corals and identify hard corals down to Acropora and non-Acropora growth forms.
3. Reef Restoration Theory: An introduction to reef restoration, what it is, how it is conducted and background information about corals which helps determine restoration methods.
4. Reef Restoration Methodology: The methods behind coral nurseries, artificial structures & out-planting. Information on restoration tools, skills, techniques, monitoring and maintenance.
5. Reduce your Impact on Reefs: How to reduce your carbon and environmental impact as well as minimising your diving impact and good buoyancy practices.
PRACTICAL
1. Coral Identification: Throughout the in-water sessions, coral identification is practiced independently and with the instructor.
2. Endangered Reefs: Dive one focuses on various methods to improve diver buoyancy skills.
3. Coral Restoration: Dives two, three and four involve utilising various restoration skills such as fragment collection, fragment attachment, data collection, nursery maintenance or out planting, depending on the current needs of your project.
CONSERVATION DIVER
A 1 day, 2 dive course, the Conservation Diver allows the diver to become involved in the restoration project with less expansive theory and a practical session focus on restoration maintenance skills. Perfect for the diver who is short on time or for when your project needs a little extra TLC.
ONLINE THEORY
1. Coral Reefs Importance and Threats: An introduction to what corals are, their morphology and the local and global threats they face.
2. Coral Identification: Recognise the difference between hard and soft coral and the general hard coral growth forms.
3. Coral Reef Restoration: Introduction to the basic theory behind reef restoration methods, with a focus on the skills required to maintain a coral nursery and artificial reef.
4. Reduce your Impact on Reefs: How to reduce your carbon and environmental impact as well as minimising your diving impact and good buoyancy practices.
PRACTICAL
1. Coral Identification: Throughout the in-water sessions, coral identification is practised independently and with the instructor.
2. Endangered Reefs: Dive one focuses on various methods to improve diver buoyancy skills.
3. Coral Restoration: Dive Two focuses on utilising the skills learnt in restoration maintenance, including cleaning the coral nursery and artificial reef, collecting growth data, and removing coral predators from the nursery.