We adopted turtles on our IDC.
As part of the #IDCWITHKAI, I donate part of the PADI Instructor Development Course fee to programs that help protect our oceans. During this IDC we had the pleasure of a Divemaster trainee join many of our confined water and classroom presentation. Her name is Johanna Leonhardt and she is part of an amazing team based in the Conflict Islands, called the Conflict Islands Conservation Initiative. Before you jump on Google and try to find out where it is, the Conflict Islands are based in the Coral Sea made up of 21 incredible islands and atolls in Papua New Guinea.
During our past IDC we have donated funds to PADI Project Aware and Tangaroa Blue who are all incredible organizations that work really hard on conservation issues, climate change, plastic pollution and marine creature protection.
So…. the 3 turtles we adopted are all hatchlings from the last season nesting and were in the weakest 10% of their clutches. CICI run what is called a head start program doing exactly that by giving the turtles a head start in life 😊 They will be released when they can complete a check list of tasks including things like weight and size requirement, eating well diving and swimming, and free from any sickness or illness for at least 14 days.
During this IDC the three candidates Matt, Alex and Peter adopted three incredible turtles. Geoffrey a Hawksbill turtle was adopted by Matt, Bruce who was also a Hawksbill turtle was adopted by Alex and Pan Pan who is a green turtle was adopted by Peter.
Geoffrey the Hawksbill
It is estimated that only 1 out of 1,000 turtles make it to adulthood. Hopefully these little guys or girls get the head start they need to make it to adulthood and make it back to the conflict islands once they are at a breeding age. We hear so often: “What can I do?” to make a difference. Well, this is what I do to give back to the environment and help conservation groups such as CICI make our oceans a better place.
Bruce the Hawksbill
“Working with the local communities and CICI's own Turtle Rangers, CICI endeavours to protect all turtles that nest within the Conflict Islands Atoll. CICI also provides much needed education and awareness about the endangered species and how to help manage local populations on regular visits to schools and communities of the surrounding island groups.”
Pan Pan the Green turtle
So…. If you can’t decide who to do your PADI IDC with, consider the fact that apart from getting an incredible IDC which will prepare you not just to pass the PADI IE, but also prepare you for the real world of the live of a dive instructor and make a difference to our environment by supporting conservation activities such as undertaken by PADI Project Aware, Tangaroa Blue or CICI then get in touch. Happy bubbles
