Giving Back

It's time for us to give back

By: Tori Preddy, IDC Staff Instructor

When you think about how you want the world to view you, what do you think of? How do you want to be represented? When we ask ourselves that same question, many different thoughts surface. The three that keep coming up are safety, environmental awareness and community.
 
We always strive to be as safe as possible in all our practices, and that tends to shine through in all our work. But what about environmental awareness and community? We realized that we need to work harder on these two topics.

As many of you may have noticed, this year we have started to focus more on community. We want to build up an epic dive community, where everyone can feel safe and comfortable spending time underwater. This means we need to get to know our dive buddies better. Therefore we've been hosting monthly pub nights to get together and enjoy each other's company while swapping dive stories and ideas.

But what about the rest of the community? We are still a part of a much bigger community, where not everyone dives. This community has allowed us to host many special events over the years, as well as support us in our efforts to grow. How do we help the Victoria community? Well for starters, we've started a food drive! All donations will go to the Mustard Seed, a non-profit that helps fight hunger in Greater Victoria. Every donation is appreciated, but as an incentive, anyone who donates five or more items will receive a free Rockfish Divers travel mug!

Finally the environment. We strongly believe in the statement made by Sylvia Earle, "No ocean, no life. No blue, no green." Because of this we want to make sure we care for our oceans. As divers we should be ambassadors for them, as we're the ones down there. We get to see first hand what the world is doing to our waters. We constantly see all the garbage, pollution and over fishing that goes on. So why aren't we doing anything? Well, we're starting.

We're starting off with the simple stuff that we should have done long ago. First, we're encouraging our suppliers to limit their plastics in packaging. We've also introduced paper bags, on the occasion you need something to carry all your new gear in. We now also have a public can and bottle recycling bin. 

All this stuff is great, but what about dealing with the stuff humans have already done to the environment? Well, that's where we need you. We've pledged to run at least three underwater clean ups per year. Our first one will be in honor of Earth Day, and will be held on April 20th. Our next will be in June, for World Ocean Day, and our last (for the year) will be in September for World Clean Up Day.

Underwater clean ups are a great way for everyone to give back, as well as ensure our dive sites remain pristine for years to come. On April 20th, for our first clean up of the year, we will be cleaning Ogden Point. There is loads of fishing line and hooks there that harm marine life, and create an entanglement hazard for divers, so we want to clear it up!

We will provide mesh bags for all, as well as dispose of all the rubbish brought up. As a treat for those who help out, there will be a raffle with some great prizes from PADI, Huish Outdoors, and more! There will also be a selection of baked goods and drinks for post dive "energy".  We hope to see you all there.

This year we want to change the way we dive. We want to bring community and environment back into the picture for everyone. We hope our changes will bring us all closer, and give us all better experiences underwater.