Dive into action during PADI's 7th annual AWARE Week! Taking place September 14-22, 2024, AWARE Week is an opportunity for divers around the world to take local action for global impact. YOU can create positive ocean change through fins-on, fins-off conservation actions, courses and event participation.

As the global community of divers and Ocean Torchbearers™, we’re joining forces to tackle the marine debris crisis. So what can you do to help?

1. Sign the petition and help reach 10,000 signatures to support PADI AWARE® at the policy table during negotiations of the Global Plastics Treaty.
   
   
2. Join Blue Planet's Dive Against Debris Team! Dive Against Debris is not just a PADI AWARE specialty course; it's also a powerful citizen science program that provides tools to remove debris from dive sites and gather crucial survey data to forward essential conservation measures to help rid the ocean of marine debris.
   
   
3. Make every dive a survey dive! Whenever you dive, you can submit your data to the Dive Against Debris program to support PADI AWARE's policy work to create a standardized global monitoring solution for marine debris.
   
   

Did you know we're 100% AWARE?

When you continue your dive education and training, you only become a better diver. AND you support conservation efforts when you do it with us! As a 100% AWARE Partner dive center, we make a donation to the PADI AWARE Foundation for every certification we issue. That means you also get a special AWARE digital card! Thanks to our divers, we were recognized as the 2021 100% AWARE Worldwide Donation Leader.

Conservation Challenge 2024

Our inaugural Conservation Challenge for 2023 was a success! This year we are changing things up a bit. Starting on September 14, 2024, you can enter our drawing for a chance to win a spot on a trip to Cozumel or Grenada with Blue Planet when you earn 3 or more conservation-related specialties or participate in 3 conservation-focused events. More details coming soon!

AWARE Week Events

In honor of AWARE Week 2024, we have an exciting lineup of events and classes to help you get more involved AND earn points in the Challenge!

• Tuesday, September 17 - PADI AWARE Specialty
  How do you impact the ocean -- both positively and negatively -- as a diver? Develop your very own action plan to make a difference every day and with every dive during this PADI specialty course. Keep AWARE Week going all year long! 

• Wednesday, September 18 - Coral Reef Conservation
  As a scuba diver, you've probably guessed that the health of aquatic ecosystems is important for enjoyable dives. In this PADI specialty course, you will learn about the many threats facing our coral reefs and how you can help preserve them.

• Thursday, September 19 - AWARE Fish ID
  Curious about the names of all those fish you see on a dive? Want to learn how to identify them and submit fish surveys for REEF? Join us for the classroom section of the AWARE Fish ID course and complete the dives on your next trip. This class will open your eyes to the diversity of the marine world!

• Saturday, September 21 - Dive Against Debris @ Lake Phoenix
  Join us for a Dive Against Debris at one of our Adopt the Blue sites. Learn how you can make every dive count by not just removing trash but recording and submitting the data too. PLUS you can become part of the Blue Planet Dive Against Debris Team!

• Saturday, September 21 - Peak Performance Buoyancy @ Lake Phoenix
  Divers who’ve mastered the highest performance levels in buoyancy stand apart. You’ve seen them underwater. They glide effortlessly, use less air and ascend, descend or hover, almost as if by thought. Best of all, they never crash into, bump, or damage any of the dive site. Join us for this course at Lake Phoenix to take your buoyancy skills to the next level.

• Sunday, September 22 - Rock Creek Cleanup
  Join Blue Planet and the Rock Creek Conservancy for the International Coastal Cleanup! We'll be removing trash from our favorite National Park and keeping local waterways free of debris.

What are others ways you can make a difference as a diver? 

• Take the Green Fins Diver e-Course
  This new online course teaches scuba divers how to prevent diving-related damage to coral reefs by following the highest environmental standards, as set out by the Green Fins initiative.

• Tips for Planning an Eco-Minded Dive Trip
  As divers, we are often more aware of issues impacting the ocean and coastal communities. Understanding what makes a dive site and its local residents healthy and stable is important when planning your next eco-minded dive trip. Here are some of the things we look for when we’re planning a trip.

• Shop sustainably!
  There are tons of great products now to help you reduce single-use plastics, given new life to discarded items and keep toxic chemicals off our bodies and out of marine ecosystems. Some of our favorites include Stream2Sea reef-safe sunscreens and these bamboo utensil sets. Fourth Element's Rec fins are made of recycled plastic plus they offer a ton of great products created with sustainability in mind.

• Become a PADI Torchbearer
  Join the growing community of ocean advocates taking action above and below the surface. As a Torchbearer you'll receive the latest conservation news, actions and tips for divers.