Women divers from all around the globe celebrated Professional Association of Diving Instructors Women’s Dive Day last Saturday by participating in a variety of specialized events. The emphasis of the global movement was to get as many women as possible diving on the same day to build awareness, create interest and bring attention to the accomplishments of women in the dive industry. The History of Diving Museum and the Coral Restoration Foundation partnered with the Islamorada Dive Center to host the day’s event. The activities included exploratory dives in the CRF nursery and on Davis Reef, a popular dive site that has been planted with a variety of the foundation’s nursery raised corals. The day ended with a group tour of the mile marker 82.9 museum for all of the participants.
The museum tour highlighted pioneer women in diving. This was followed by a presentation focusing on specialty diving certifications for coral restoration. Coral Restoration Foundation, along with Keys Diver, hosted a guest diver program for an exciting group of women. These women spent two days earning a diving certification specialty as a Coral Restoration Diver, which is designed specifically for CRF. Women from 17 to 80 years old participated in the certification specialty. The PADI diving certification consists of a classroom presentation about anatomy, evolution and importance of the Keys coral reefs, as well as the mission and methodologies of the CRF. There is a ‘hands-on’ session allowing the participants to practice the necessary skills required to work in the coral nursery and plant corals onto selected reef sites.
As an active board member for both the Coral Restoration Foundation and the History of Diving Museum, I was delighted to see the groups participating in the PADI Women’s Dive Day. It was encouraging to see so many women diving and ensuring the legacy of lady divers, in history and for our future.
Source: Women divers united in Keys conservation