User Name
  Reef Check California Training Course Details  
  YOU PAY ONLY A FRACTION OF THE ACTUAL COST OF THE COURSE!!  
  Your Training Fee pays a portion of the cost of your two weekend course, which includes:  
 
Yearly Membership to Reef Check Foundation  $25
Reef Check California Instruction Manual  $30
Reef Check California Indicator Organism Flashcards  $30
Pool practice session    $35
Two 3-dive days of field training aboard dive charters  $220
Your own custom underwater dive slate, transect tape, and measuring calipers $50
Two full weekend course taught by a marine biologist   $200
Knowledge that you are directly helping to preserve CA marine resources    +PRICELESS
  =$590
 
  Instead of $590 you pay $200-$300 depending on if your field training is from shore, an overnight boat trip, or day boat trips.  
     
  Why does the course cost so little?
RCCA invests this time and money in each of our volunteers because we have found citizen-science to be the answer to the call for the large amount of sound scientific information needed to get a broad and long-term picture of the state of the rocky reefs of California.  We also believe that a better informed community of ocean users will make better decisions and actively support sustainable marine management.

Our volunteers invest their own time and money in the training and subsequent surveys because they are provided the opportunity to make a direct impact on ocean conservation by helping to inform marine management decisions with the data collected.  They learn a great deal about the local marine environment in an enjoyable and interactive setting. To learn more about what our divers get out of being a part of Reef Check, please check out this web page: http://reefcheck.org/rcca/Reef_Check_California_certified_Divers_LEAD_THE_WAY.php

The majority of training and survey costs are subsidized by generous member support, as well as aggressive fundraising by the organizational staff.  As you can see, RCCA invests a significant amount of resources into each volunteer in the hopes that each person who is trained will be an active member of the RCCA Team and complete several surveys each year after they complete their training.		  
  To become a member and help support improving  marine management in California please go to : http://reefcheck.org/join/become_member.php.  
     
 

To become a certified Reef Check California volunteer you must:

  • Show proficient diving safety, navigation, and buoyancy skills
  • Pass knowledge review test with a score of 85% or higher (take home)
  • Pass timed species ID tests (Seaweed, Invertebrate, and Fishes) with scores of 85% or higher
  • Pass field evaluations with small margin of error for each type of transect*

*Note: It is possible to become certified for some types of transects while other types will need to be practiced throughout the sampling season until proficiency is reached. 
Transect types: Seaweed, Invertebrate, Fish, and Substrate Description (UPC)

  
     
 

Reef Check California Diver Training Schedule

Classroom Portion- Saturday and Sunday classroom and pool sessions from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm each day

Saturday: 
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Lectures: Introduction to Reef Check Foundation, Threats to Marine Ecosystems, California MPAs, Ecology, Sampling Methodology, Sampling Gear, RCCA Indicator Invertebrates, RCCA Indicator Fishes.

Sunday:
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Meet at pool with dive gear for exercises in sampling gear deployment, compass/navigation, and organism counts.

1:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Lectures on RCCA Indicator Seaweeds, Substrate Characterization (UPC), and Bringing It All Together; Species ID testing; Receive take-home knowledge reviews.

Field Portion- the following Saturday and Sunday aboard dive charters

Saturday: 3 dives to PRACTICE Seaweed, Invertebrate, Fish Sizing, UPC, and Fish ID transects.

Sunday: 3 dives to be EVALUATED on Seaweed, Invertebrate, Fish, and UPC transects.