Good divers make good survey divers, so we take the time to train you properly.
Our volunteers collect the data behind our reef monitoring, so we need to trust them underwater, both as divers and as careful, methodical citizen scientists. We see every diver’s training as an investment in that research. That’s why our PADI courses take longer than at a typical dive shop, with extra dives for buoyancy and skills, and why even experienced divers start with a refresher.
Once you’ve booked, we send you the PADI eLearning so you can work through the theory at home before you arrive. You begin the Open Water course in your first week. Most dive shops finish it in three days, but we spread the training out and include extra dives for buoyancy and skills practice, usually with two or three students per instructor. Advanced Open Water comes next, and once you’ve completed it, you’re ready for survey training.
Your first day is diver bootcamp, a relaxed refresher that gets rusty divers back in the water and makes sure everyone is comfortable with the basics, like clearing a mask, recovering a regulator and sharing air. Above all, we look at buoyancy, because good buoyancy is what lets you work close to the reef without touching it. A second day is fine too, if you need it.
If you already have Advanced Open Water and at least 20 logged dives, you go straight on to survey training. If you’re certified Open Water, you take the Advanced Open Water course with us first, then you’re ready.
Has it been a long time since your last dive, or did your Open Water course leave you feeling unsure? You’re welcome to redo the whole course with us. We’re happy to spend the extra time, so you start survey work feeling confident.
Arriving with Advanced Open Water and 20 logged dives? After a day of diver bootcamp, you can go straight to step 4.
We dive six days a week, mostly from boats, and you’ll usually log 12 to 13 dives a week, with Sundays always off. Survey work happens between 5 and 25 metres. All training is done by our own staff instructors, and every diver uses a Shearwater dive computer. In your first week we fit you for the personal dive kit you’ll use throughout your stay. You can read how we set it up on our scuba gear page.
We follow Green Fins guidelines and do not touch marine life or the reef. Picking up litter on clean-up dives is the only exception.
Survey training takes between six and 15 days, depending on which survey method you learn. We teach you the species and techniques you need, then you join the survey teams and start collecting real data, recording what you see on an underwater slate. You don’t need a background in marine biology, just patience and an eye for detail. If you want to get properly involved in the science, we recommend staying 12 weeks or more.
You can take one PADI course for every four weeks of your stay, with any started period counting as a full one, so a six-week stay covers two courses. Beyond Open Water and Advanced, we offer Rescue Diver and our specialities: Self-Reliant Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox and Deep Diver.
If you’re thinking of working in diving, or as a dive safety officer for an NGO or university, our PADI Divemaster training takes at least eight weeks, or 12 if you’re not certified yet. Divemaster candidates who stay 16 weeks or more get tec training included: PADI Tec 40 at 16 weeks, Tec 45 at 20 and Tec 50 at 24.
We also take all volunteers to Apo Island about once a month for a day of fun diving, as a thank you for their work.
Your volunteer fee covers tuition, gear and transport for your PADI courses. You only pay for PADI’s eLearning and certification, listed on our course prices page.
Our partnership with the Centre for Global Citizenship Studies (CGCS) lets you earn college credit for your stay, with options for students in both the UK and the US.
New volunteers start every other Monday, and we usually reply to applications within 24 hours.