Project AWARE Courses
PADI AWARE Foundation is a publicly funded non-profit with three registered charities across the globe. Our mission is to drive local action for global ocean conservation. We advance our mission through citizen science, public policy and community grants. With PADI - the world's leading scuba diver training organization - we drive towards our collective vision to achieve balance between humanity and the ocean.
To learn more about a specific course, click on its name in the list below.
Project AWARE - Underwater Naturalist - Fish ID - Coral Reefs - Shark Conservation - Invasive Lionfish Tracker - Dive Against Debris - Sea Turtle Awareness - Whale Shark Awareness
Project AWARE
The Project AWARE Specialty course is an introduction to the global AWARE movement for ocean protection. It focuses and expands on the 10 tips for divers to protect the ocean planet. Through interactive discussions, you'll learn how you can make a difference for ocean protection every time you dive or travel. A dry, ‘fins off' course, this specialty is ideal for divers and nondivers alike to gain insight into how decisions above and below the surface impact our water planet.
What You Will Learn:
Be introduced to the AWARE movement.
Understand the 10 Tips for Divers to Protect the Ocean Planet.
Develop an action plan for how you can personally make a difference.
Price: $125.00
AWARE Underwater Naturalist
Take the PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty course and you'll see new things, even on the most familiar scuba diving sites. Why? Because when know more about symbioses, underwater ecology, and aquatic plant and animal habitats, you notice behaviors and see creatures you may have previously missed. Learn more about the local ecosystem and take a closer look on your next scuba diving adventure.
What You Will Learn:
Key differences between the terrestrial and aquatic worlds.
Major aquatic life groupings, interactions and information that dispels myths.
Responsible interactions with aquatic life.
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher
Be 10 years or older
Own a slate and a pencil to write down observations underwater
Any supplemental equipment that your instructor might recommend like a flashlight to see in cracks and crevices
Included for this Course:
PADI Underwater Naturalist manual
Price: $125.00
AWARE Fish ID
“What was that fish?” is a common question heard after a dive. If you want to be the scuba diver with the answers, instead of the one asking the questions, then take the Fish Identification Specialty course. You'll enjoy your dives even more when you recognize the creatures that you see and can identify the main fish families and their characteristics.
What You Will Learn:
Once you learn to recognize what types of fish you see, you'll find it easier to reference the exact species after a scuba dive. For example, a butterfly fish in the Caribbean has a similar shape to a butterfly fish in Southeast Asia, but colors and markings may be wildly different. If you know what fish family it belongs to, you can more easily look up the local name or at least be able to intelligently ask the local scuba instructor what you saw.
How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species.
Fish survey techniques and strategies.
About Project AWARE activities that can help protect aquatic life
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher
Be 10 years or older
Own a slate and a pencil to write down observations underwater
Any supplemental equipment that your instructor might recommend like a flashlight to see in cracks and crevices
Own a fish identification card if available for your area
Price: $125.00
AWARE Coral Reefs
Everyone likes to scuba dive or snorkel in warm, clear water on a vibrant coral reef, yet many people know little about what they're seeing or the importance of reef ecosystems. The Coral Reef Conservation Specialty course helps you appreciate the complexity of these habitats and teaches you how you can help conserve these vital systems.
What You Will Learn:
How coral reefs function and the complex nature of life on a reef.
Why coral reefs are so important.
Why many coral reefs are in serious trouble.
What you can do to prevent further decline.
How the PADI AWARE Foundation unites divers and water enthusiasts to make a difference.
Prerequisites:
Anyone who has an interest in the aquatic world can take this course. There are no prerequisites or age restrictions and no water sessions are required to earn this non-diving certification.
Included for this Course:
Digital manual - AWARE - Our World, Our Water - downloadable for free on Project AWARE.org
Price: $125.00
AWARE Shark Conservation
Love sharks? Scared of sharks? Or do you just want to know more about them? Enroll in an AWARE Shark Conservation Specialty course and discover the value of sharks to marine ecosystems and economies. You'll learn more about the causes of declining shark populations and the actions you can take to become a knowledgeable and passionate shark defender. By being informed, you can dispel misconceptions and act to protect sharks. Sharks need you!
What You Will Learn:
The conservation status of sharks, why they are unique and vulnerable, and the importance of healthy shark populations.
How to manage threats to sharks, recognize the value of sharks and remove barriers to conservation.
Actions you can take to protect sharks and how joining a global movement of divers can help to protect sharks.
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher
Be 12 years or older
Included for this Course:
AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Study Guide, downloadable from Project AWARE
Price: $125.00
AWARE Invasive Lionfish Tracker
Lionfish originate from the Pacific Ocean and are gradually invading the Northwest of the Atlantic and the Caribbean, where they do not have natural predators. Learn the techniques for controlling the lionfish population and, through two open water dives, practice those techniques to securely capture and gently euthanize these fish.
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher
Be 12 years or older
Price: $125.00
AWARE Dive Against Debris
A Dive Against Debris diver works directly for the ocean, collecting essential survey data on any dive that can be used by researchers and policy makers in conservation efforts. No one is better placed to tackle marine debris than PADI divers. Help preserve your favorite dive site and the local marine environment from debris and contribute to the world's largest underwater database. To reduce marine debris by 50% in targeted countries by 2030, we need everyone to work together locally, nationally and internationally. The primary goals of this Dive Against Debris course are to understand the marine debris surveys you and your fellow divers submit with the goal of managing and controlling debris, and directly addressing the problem by removing the debris. These actions contribute to much-needed scientific research that advances the PADI Blueprint for Ocean Action project.
Make a difference on every dive by activating your inner citizen scientist. During the Dive Against Debris® Diver Specialty course, you’ll learn how ocean plastic and trash cleanups not only keep your local dive sites healthier, but also how to contribute to a global database that documents our planet’s marine debris problem. Under the guidance of your instructor, you’ll participate in a Dive Against Debris survey and turn your passion for the underwater world into real action.
What You Will Learn:
Identify the objects that should and shouldn’t be removed from the ocean
Investigate: Sort through, record and bring back the marine debris that you have collected
Contribute to the PADI AWARE Fondation’s international data base
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, PADI Freediver or PADI Advanced Mermaid
Be 10 years or older
Price: $150.00
AWARE Sea Turtle Awareness
Marine turtle populations all over the world are in decline but there are ways to fight against this. Learn the basics for marine turtle identification, the methods for recording your observations and the conservation measures you can take. This course includes two scuba dives or two snorkel outings.
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, or PADI Freediver
Be 12 years or older
Price: $125.00
AWARE Whale Shark Awareness
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea. They are well-known as being gentle giants, but not a lot is known of their activities or the size of their population. Research and surveillance programs help fill in these blanks. Learn more about the biology, behaviour and distribution of whale sharks. Through two open water dives or snorkel outings, practice gently observing these magnificient creatures.
Prerequisites:
Be a certified PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver or higher, or PADI Freediver
Be 12 years or older
Price: $125.00
All prices are subject to change without notice.
Course descriptions are taken from PADI https://www.padi.com/