to be arranged

to be arranged

Details

PADI Underwater Naturalist Speciality Course

Course Overview

There are four main purposes that this Speciality Course aims to meet.

Firstly, the course is intended to create an awareness. The submarine world is different from the terrestrial world. Those who venture underwater are in a unique position to observe and interact with organisms entirely different from those who are on land. In a sense, those who enter the underwater world are a privileged group; they have first hand personal experiences with aquatic life.

Don't think this is only true of warm water reef diving. We have run Naturalist Speciality Courses on the South UK coast and have been overwhelmed at the diversity of life encountered.

Secondly, the course helps evoke a sense of responsibility. With any privilege comes responsibility. It is the responsibility of the recreational diver to accept and foster a sense of responsibility for aquatic organisms.

Thirdly, the course expands the public knowledge of the aquatic environment. The course presents an interaction to aquatic life in a fun and informative way. It is not an academic treatment of aquatic biology but will encourage participants to find out more. Particular
attention is given to dispelling myths about potentially dangerous aquatic life by providing accurate factual information about animals suck as sharks eels jellyfish and others.

Finally, for non divers such as friends and family it can be a vehicle for recruiting non divers into the sport by introducing them to the beauty and wonder of the underwater realm.

Prerequisites

• To undertake the full speciality you need to be a fully certified diver but non divers can attend the theory portions hosted by Aquamarine free of charge.
• Students as young as 10 can attend the theory portions. Also encourage non divers to see the Project Aware section of this site.

What will I need to participate

In addition to standard equipment fish identification slates will be advantageous but it is essential that you have a means of making notes underwater.

An underwater torch will probably help too.

Each student will have been expected to:

Hand in Knowledge Reviews to the Instructor prior to any open water dives.

NB: a failure to have undertaken this preparation will result in our refusal to you doing the open water diving.

How long will the course take?

The course will consist of a half day theory session at a location to be arranged followed by two open water dives.

What do the dives involve?

Open Water Dive 1 Objectives

• By the end of the day you will have undertaken a passive observation of aquatic life with PADI professional supervision.
• You will have practised applying diving techniques that will help preserve bottom dwelling organisms and will have minimised disturbance to aquatic life.
• You will have shown that you can locate and identify at least two aquatic plants by either their common or scientific names and will have been able to do the same for at lest four aquatic invertebrates.
• You will have observed and identified at least five local aquatic vertebrate animals.

NB: these numbers may be relaxed if the course is conducted in fresh water.

Open Water Dive 2 Objectives

Dive 2 will be used to build these skills but with emphasis on:

• the identification and observation of as many examples of symbiotic and predator prey relationships as possible and
• the location of examples of indications of the impact that man has had on the aquatic environment.

Instructors

To be advised

A Speciality Course Fee is applicable – see the training costs page on this site.

In addition students will be responsible for all travel and dive site costs as well as costs for materials.

Please lodge your expression of interest with Fiona O’Reilly: secretary@aquamarine.org.uk