5 tips to make your dive courses more eco-friendly

As dive professionals, we don't just teach people how to breathe underwater – we're also ambassadors for the ocean. With coral reefs facing unprecedented threats and marine ecosystems under pressure, integrating conservation into every aspect of our teaching isn't just nice – it's necessary. The good news? Making your dive courses more eco-friendly is easier than you think, and your students will love you for it. Let's dive into five simple ways to green up your dive courses!

1. Ditch the disposables

First things first – let's talk about all those single-use items that somehow creep into dive operations. Remember those stacks of plastic water bottles on the boat? Or the disposable cups at the dive shop? Time to show them the door!

Instead:

• Provide refillable water stations and encourage students to bring their own bottles

• Switch to digital training materials where possible

• Use laminated briefing cards instead of single-use printouts

• Offer reusable mugs for those essential pre-dive coffees

Pro tip: Make it part of your course introduction! "Welcome to your Open Water course... and here's your branded reusable water bottle – consider it your first piece of essential dive equipment!"

Ditch the plastic bottle!

2. Make buoyancy a conservation skill

We all know poor buoyancy leads to reef damage, but do your students know that? Instead of just teaching buoyancy as a technical skill, frame it as a conservation necessity.

Try this approach:

• Demonstrate how even light fin contact can damage coral

• Set up buoyancy courses in the pool with "no-touch" challenges

• Show before/after photos of reef areas damaged by divers

• Reward excellent buoyancy with some form of recognition

One of my students described it perfectly: "I never realized that hovering perfectly isn't just to look cool in photos – it's actually saving the reef!"

3. Integrate mini-cleanups into training dives

Why wait until the Dive Against Debris specialty to start picking up trash? Make it a habit during every training dive.

How to do it:

• Give each buddy team a small mesh bag

• Challenge students to find at least three pieces of underwater debris

• Turn it into a friendly competition – strangest item found wins!

• Discuss the finds during your post-dive debrief

Not only does this help clean the reef, but it also emphasizes that environmental responsibility is part of being a diver from day one.

4. Talk about the "why" behind dive protocols

Most divers follow rules like "don't touch" or "maintain appropriate distance from marine life" because their instructor told them to. But explaining the ecological reasoning creates divers who think critically about their impact.

During briefings, explain:

• Why touching corals with bare hands can transmit bacteria

• How getting too close can stress marine life and alter behavior

• The importance of neutral entry to protect shallow reef areas

• Why we don't feed fish (it disrupts natural feeding patterns)

• Why sunscreen can be damaging to reefs and what are good alternatives

By giving some better understanding behind these rules or recommendations, you simply get your students to care more.

Stay off the corals!

5. Lead by example (all the time)

Here's the hard truth: you can talk about conservation until you're blue in the face, but if your students see you grabbing a coral for stability or using disposable plastics, your message loses credibility.

Ways to walk the talk:

• Be impeccable with your own buoyancy and trim

• Use reef-safe sunscreen and tell students why

• Demonstrate proper interaction distances with marine life

• Participate visibly in conservation efforts at your dive center

I once had a student tell me, "I knew you were serious about conservation when I saw you picking up trash on the beach before we even got to the dive site."

Make it matter

The beauty of these eco-friendly approaches is that they don't require extra time or fancy certifications – just a shift in how you present what you're already teaching. By weaving conservation into the fabric of your courses, you're not just creating divers; you're creating ocean advocates.

And in today's world, that's the kind of instructor we all need to be. Because teaching someone to dive without teaching them to protect the ocean is like giving someone a library card without teaching them to read – they miss the best part.

Stay buoyant, stay green, and happy teaching! 🌊