CoralWatch with the help of PADI instructors Chris Roelfsema and Diana Kleine have developed a PADI approved ‘CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty’ specialty in conjunction with PADI AWARE Foundation, so you can teach, dive and certify your students in coral monitoring and data collection. This Distinctive Specialty course highlights the impact of coral bleaching and provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to identify coral health and record data. The specialty is aimed at snorkelers and divers who like to get recognition for their gained knowledge and skills, as it is not a requirement to do the surveys.

The goals of the CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty course training are:

1. To raise awareness about the importance of coral reef conservation and introduce CoralWatch.
2. To inform students about coral reef impacts such as coral bleaching.
3. To introduce the Coral Health Chart as a monitoring tool.
4. To provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to identify coral health and record data
5. To enable students to plan, organize and execute a Coral Health Chart survey in a safe manner for both students and the environment.
6. To emphasise the importance of Coral Health Chart monitoring activities and provide coral reef conservation opportunities through participation in PADI AWARE’s Foundation CoralWatch Project
7. To submit coral health data, contributing to science and conservation.

The education materials for Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty course training are:

1. Knowledge Development Session 1: coral biology, coral bleaching and the threats to coral reefs.
2. Knowledge Development Session 2: how to conduct a Coral Health Survey and how to upload data in the global database.
3. Virtual Practice Survey.
4. Knowledge Review.

Email CoralWatch info@coralwatch.org for access to these materials.