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Restoration Diver Certification

Reef Guru Diver Program

DIVE / SNORKEL FACILITIES

Dive centres are perfectly positioned to run coral restoration projects, with the essential required resources (boat & diving / snorkel equipment) already in place, and with staff and clients who are enthusiastic about the marine environment. However, most dive centres are understandably unable to spare the time, staff, and financial resources required to run & maintain a successful restoration project. But what if you had a neat, structured coral restoration course package that you could sell to your diving clients? This is why we innovated the Diver Program as a course for dive centres to sell as a means to access the financial resources AND man power needed for coral restoration projects.

WE ARE RECRUITING NEW PARTNER FACILITIES

EMAIL US TO BECOME A PARTNER & BUILD REEFS FOR THE FUTURE: INFO@REEFGURU.UK

What are the benefits?

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  • Investing in your local reef - who wants to dive a degraded reef?

  • Access the financial resources needed to fund your restoration project

  • Carefully designed course structure with educational content & materials - we've done all the hard work for you!

  • Enhance the green image of your business

  • Remote support from marine biologists specialised in coral restoration

  • Exposure & promotion of your business through our channels & advertising

  • A fun & interesting course for your staff to teach! Even the die hard instructors need a break from SCUBA instruction sometimes!

Becoming a partner facility

1. Complete the Diver Program Set-Up for Restoration Managers online course

2. Select one of your employees to complete the Instructor Training Online Course & certification

3. Build & install the required restoration infrastructure: coral nursery & any desired artificial reefs -> if you already have a restoration project you are one step ahead!

4. Take our optional online courses to guide you through choosing & building a coral nursery or artificial reef

5. Advertise the online theory course & sell the practical course to your dive clients at a price to cover your restoration project operational costs

6. Access online support and digital course materials through a private Instructor/Facility page on the Reef Guru website

Exposure for your company

We host the online theory course for the Restoration Diver & Conservation Diver courses but you host the practical dives. This means that through our many social channels and advertising means, we will be promoting all of our Partner Facilities to everyone who has completed the online theory, so that they can complete the course! We will also regularly post any updates & photos that you share with us of your practical dives and restoration projects. Free exposure for your business!

THE COURSES

Once you are registered as a Partner Facility, have at least one of your employees certified as a Reef Guru Instructor, and have your coral nursery and any desired artificial reefs in place, you are ready to start selling the Reef Guru Diver Program courses and self-fund, maintain and expand your coral restoration projects! 

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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 completing 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!

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RESTORATION DIVER

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A 2 day, 4 dive course, the Restoration Diver exposes the diver to the full array of restoration activities. 

 

ONLINE THEORY

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

COSTS TO THE FACILITY

The facility is responsible for any costs of constructing and maintaining coral nurseries and artificial structures as well as ongoing costs for the materials needed, i.e. all costs associated with their personal restoration project. But remember, the whole idea behind the Reef Guru Diver Program is that by selling the Restoration Diver and Conservation Diver courses, the facility generates the revenue to cover the restoration project costs.

 

There is the option to purchase a facility pack from Reef Guru with all the main tools and materials needed to get you started on restoration work once you have your structures installed. It is also possible to purchase materials from Reef Guru on an ongoing basis, however where possible we encourage facilities to find local sources of these materials to help reduce costs and support local businesses.

 

The only Reef Guru cost to the facility is a yearly licensing fee of £200 which permits use of our intellectual property and brand. The first year's fee includes all the online facility set-up training and certification of one of your employees as a Reef Guru Instructor which includes the Instructor Pack. Certification of any additional employees as a Reef Guru Instructor is £100 per person. After the first year, a minimal annual Instructor membership fee of £30 is charged to the Instructor to ensure only active and knowledgeable Instructors are teaching the Reef Guru courses.

 

One of the many great things about our program is that the cost of the online theory courses is charged directly to the student through our online course platform.  The dive facility can then charge their own fee to the diver for the practical side depending on their own expenses and profit margins.

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