PADI Underwater Naturalist

Know your underwater plants, invertebrates and vertebrates! Diving in fresh water or temperate & tropical oceans exposes you to beautiful and diverse underwater life. Knowing how to identify marine life helps you understand the unique structure and health of the underwater environment. As a diver, you can observe symbiotic relationships among marine creatures and help monitor the health of the reefs in your favorite diving locations.

Course Prerequisites

• PADI Open Water Diver, PADI Junior Open Water Diver or equivalent

• Minimum age 10

What You Will Learn

You will learn about the differences between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, how to identify the most common underwater plants, vertebrates (creatures with backbone-type skeletal structure) and invertebrates (creatures without backbone-type skeletal structures) found in fresh water and temperate & tropical ocean waters throughout the world, three types of symbiotic relationships among marine creatures, as well as how to interact responsibly with marine life.

Performance Requirements

PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty course certification training is typically conducted with a brief classroom session followed by two open water training dives. To achieve certification, you will need to:

• Participate in the classroom training session and complete the Underwater Naturalist Knowledge Review included in your PADI Underwater Naturalist manual.

• Complete (2) Underwater Naturalist training dives with a PADI Underwater Naturalist Instructor.

Course Format

PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty courses are typically conducted at local dive sites. Your classroom session & two PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty training dives can be completed in one day.

Course Schedule & Cost

PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty courses are conducted through the dive stores that I work with, including VIP Diving. Please check their websites for the most current PADI Underwater Naturalist training schedule and course costs.