Marine training

HU005 Utila PADI Open Water Dive Training (weeks 1 - 8)
HE006 Rio Esteban/Cayo Menor PADI Open Water Dive Training (weeks 5 - 10)
HU007 Cayo Menor PADI Open Water Dive Training (weeks 5 - 10)

This one-week course is a pre-requisite to any diving project. Open Water dive training is free to Operation Wallacea volunteers except for the costs of the PADI registration card ($30) and the Open Water Crew Pack, which you need to bring with you (approx $40 - $60 depending on dive shop bought from). Completion of this course will give you an internationally recognised diving qualification and enable you to join general diving projects accompanied by a Dive Master. The course can be done on Utila (HU005), or with the theory and pool training completed at the new dive centre in the picturesque village of Rio Esteban with the last part of the course including the dives on Cayo Menor (HE006). There are limited places available in the Rio Esteban site and any numbers over and above this need to complete their full dive training course on Cayo Menor (HU007).

HU008 Utila Caribbean Reef Ecology (weeks 1 - 8)
HC009 Cayos Cochinos Caribbean Reef Ecology (weeks 5 - 10)

Training - need to be dive trained if you intend to dive for the practical elements of this course) This one-week course is a pre-requisite for joining many of the reef research projects and is free for Operation Wallacea volunteers. The course teaches identification of common genera and species of coral and other macro-invertebrates, identification of the major reef-associated fish families and common species and introduces a variety of methods and practices used for scientific research in the marine environment.

Additional Dive Training (weeks 1 - 8)

Additional dive training beyond Open Water level is available on Utila and can be fitted around your work on other projects so you don't need to specify the additional courses on your options list. Courses include Advanced Open Water Diver ($220), Emergency First Response ($150) or Rescue Diver ($400 - includes Emergency First Response). For the weeks you are doing these additional training courses part time, you don't have to specify it on your options, but will simply fit in the lectures and dives around your other options. Note that these extra courses may not be available at all times, and enrolment may depend on the number of people wanting the training.

HU010 Utila Dive Master Training (weeks 1 - 4)

Dive Master training is available free to Operation Wallacea volunteers, but you have to set aside 4 weeks, and will complete your internship during that time. After qualifying you may be offered the opportunity to stay on as a Dive Master at either the Cayo Menor or Utila sites for additional weeks to assist the research projects. Before booking this course you need to be a Rescue Diver and have at least 60 logged dives.