Coral Watch Health Chart Course
Koh Tao CoralWatch Coral Health Specialty Diver Course
You can help to monitor and protect the health of our Coral reefs and become a marine protector with this amazing specialty course.
The CoralWatch Coral health chart distinctive specialty course is a collaboration between CoralWatch and the Project AWARE Foundation – both are non-profit organizations.
CoralWatch is working to increase the understanding of coral reefs, coral bleaching and climate change.
CoralWatch use a simple, easy to use, non-invasive and inexpensive method to monitor coral bleaching events and the overall health of coral reefs.
Become a Citizen Scientist
Using these Coral Health Charts, anyone who is fit enough to snorkel can monitor the health of coral reefs across the globe.
You can make a significant contribution to the fight to save our coral reefs by uploading valuable data to the CoralWatch database.
Simply compare the colour of corals with the colour on the charts and record the matching codes before uploading the results of your survey to the CoralWatch online database.
Scientists are using your Data
The Coral Health chart has been accepted as a useful tool by scientists and is regularly used to assess coral colour and its condition.
Scientists are specifically applying the data collected into two existing monitoring methodologies, reef fingerprinting and long-term monitoring of individual colonies.
We hope what we teach you during the CoralWatch Coral health chart distinctive specialty course, will help to educate you.
The Coral Health chart course focuses on the threats our coral reefs are facing and will inspire you to get out there and collect data for our scientists to use.
Act Now for the future of our Coral reefs.
Included in the CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Course
- 2 Open Water training dives / 1 snorkeling session if *non-diver
- Coral Reef and Climate Change Work Book
- CoralWatch Chart
- CoralWatch Chart data sheet
- AWARE Manual – Our World, Our Water
- Project AWARE – Ten Ways a Dive Can Protect the Underwater Environment
- Project AWARE – Ten Tips for Underwater Photography
- PADI Certification card
- Rental of all scuba equipment
- FREE use of Dive Computer
- Log book
- Maximum 4 students per PADI Diving Instructor
- Black Turtle Dive customer (and environmental) promise
To enrol on a CoralWatch Coral health chart distinctive specialty for divers course you must:
- Be an Open Water diver
- Recent diving experience – we recommend completing a scuba review if you have not dived for 12 months
- 10 years old or older
- Medically fit to dive
*For a non-diver we can conduct this course and complete snorkeling sessions rather than scuba dives.
1 Day CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Specialty Course
The course consists of two sections:
Knowledge Development
- Attend the Coral Health Chart Instructor led knowledge development sessions
- Understand how to use the Coral Reef Health chart
- Learn how to complete an entire survey and compare your survey with existing data
Open Water training
- 2 Open Water dives on which you will complete a CoralWatch survey.
CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Course Cost: 6,000 baht
At Black Turtle Dive we take our customer promise very seriously. All courses are conducted with a maximum of 4 students per PADI Instructor.
Our Dive Instructors are highly trained and will ensure you receive lots of attention and most importantly, progress at your own pace in a relaxed environment.
During your training we will slowly build your confidence and ability as you develop the necessary skills.
We want you to become competent at using the CoralWatch Coral health chart as a monitoring tool and to perform surveys and be a responsible citizen scientist.
CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Course Schedule
The CoralWatch coral health chart course schedule at Black Turtle Dive is flexible and we can work around your own personal needs and timeframe.
Please feel free to ask us of any special requests you may have either via email or on one of the messenger apps on this page.
Course Schedule
Day 1:
08.00 – 11.30: Orientation & Knowledge Development
12.30 – 17.00: CoralWatch training dives 1 & 2
You are now certified to conduct CoralWatch Coral Health surveys.
CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Course Information
Orientation & Knowledge Development
We start the CoralWatch coral health chart distinctive course at 09.00 with an Orientation that includes completion of paperwork and the PADI Medical statement.
The CoralWatch Coral Health chart distinctive course consists of 2 Open Water training dives.
There are also useful resources for you to use that will help give you more background information.
These include the Coral Reef and Climate Change Work Book and the AWARE Manual – Our World, Our Water, specifically chapter 4 which covers Coral Reefs.
If you arrive the day before, it is a good idea to spend some time having a read through these materials. Alternatively, if you book online we can send them to you via G drive or Dropbox.
Ten Ways a Dive Can Protect the Underwater Environment
If you are not already familiar with Project AWARE’s Ten Ways a Dive Can Protect the Underwater Environment, then your Instructor will review this along with Project AWARE’s Ten Tips for Underwater Photography
The Instructor led knowledge development will cover a variety of subjects including:
- The importance of Coral reef conservation and Coral Health Chart monitoring
- Coral reef impacts such as coral bleaching
- How to use the Coral Health Chart as a monitoring tool
- How to identify Coral health and record data
- How to submit Coral Health data, contributing to science and conservation
- How to plan, organize and execute a Coral health chart survey in a safe manner for both students and the environment
Coral Health Chart Survey Dives – Marine Protectors
There are 2 Open Water training dives to complete to become a Coral Watch specialty diver.
Coral Watch Coral Health Chart training dive 1
During this first Open Water training dive your Specialty Instructor will assess your buoyancy skills by asking you to demonstrate neutral buoyancy by hovering.
Once we are confident your buoyancy skills are good enough to swim over the Coral Reef without causing any damage we will proceed with the training dive.
During the first Coral Health Chart survey training dive we will ask you to identify healthy coral and their different coral types as well as identify Coral that is bleaching.
Coral Health Specialty Dives
We will also ask you to demonstrate how we measure Coral Health and take note of any bleached coral you see.
Throughout the dive you will be expected to maintain a safe distance from the Coral reef whilst taking your notes, to demonstrate appropriate and responsible diving practices and behaviours to minimise negative environmental effects.
During the debriefing we will discuss the healthy and bleached Coral types we saw during our dive.
We will also discuss the level of bleaching observed and how to use the Coral Health chart to measure this.
Coral Watch Coral Health Chart training dive 2
During this second training dive you will be conducting an entire Coral Watch Coral Health survey, applying all the knowledge you have previously learned.
This will involve you identifying healthy and bleached coral and determining their coral bleaching level by using the Coral Health chart.
You will then enter this information on the Coral Health data entry sheet.
After the dive we will discuss the healthy coral we saw and the bleached corals. We will also discuss any problems we encountered and anything we can do better next time.
We will also add any relevant data to the CoralWatch database.
Congratulations. You are now a certified CoralWatch Coral Health survey diver.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Coral Watch conservation course on Koh Tao?
Our Coral Watch specialty course is a citizen science 1-day course that has a knowledge development session and practical session in the Ocean that includes 2 Open Water dives.
Students will learn how to identify types of Coral, its color and take color comparisons to assess its condition.
This data and results will then be uploaded and submitted to the Coral Watch online database that scientists can use.
How long does the Coral Watch conservation course take on Koh Tao?
Our specialty course is a 1-day course that starts in the morning at 08:00 and completes at approximately 5pm.
Morning sessions start with knowledge development sessions to discuss the outline of the course, schedule and include the following subjects:
- The importance of Coral reef conservation and Coral Health Chart monitoring
- Coral reef impacts such as coral bleaching
- How to use the Coral Health Chart as a monitoring tool
- How to identify Coral health and record data
- How to submit Coral Health data, contributing to science and conservation
- How to plan, organize and execute a Coral health chart survey in a safe manner for both students and the environment
What is the cost of Coral Watch conservation course on Koh Tao?
Coral Watch specialty course costs 6,000 baht that includes PADI certification, all scuba equipment and the supporting materials for the course.
You can help to protect the health of Coral Reefs and become a marine protector with this amazing specialty course.
The Coral Watch health chart distinctive specialty course is a collaboration between CoralWatch and the Project AWARE foundation.
How do you enrol on Coral Watch conservation course on Koh Tao?
To enrol you will need to complete our paperwork and medical questionnaire.
For the Ocean sessions and assessing Coral color, you will need to be a scuba diver with minimum Open Water certification and be at least 10 years of age.
Alternatively, if you are a non diver, you can complete the course with snorkeling sessions to acquire the data you need to conduct and complete a survey.
You can also read the supporting materials in advance before arrival by booking the course with us online.
What is the minimum age for Coral Watch conservation course on Koh Tao?
You must be at least 10 years of age to participate in the Coral Watch conservation distinctive specialty course on Koh Tao.
If you are a non-diver, the in-water coral identification and color comparison sessions, can be completed with snorkeling sessions.
This popular 1-day Coral conservation course will complete after the data has been successfully submitted to the Coral Watch online database.
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