Recently we announced that we've become the first dive centre in Canada (and in Montreal, and in Quebec...) to go 100% Aware. We were also one of the first to offer the AWARE Shark Conservation Diver Course, and year after year we invest time and money in underwater clean-ups and dives against debris.

Why do we do all this? Because we're passionate about the environment, ocean conservation and preservation of all of the beautiful, natural creatures on our planet. It's what drives us, what inspires us and what led us to scuba diving in the first place.

To us, the expense of these activities is an investment, not a cost. We believe that it's up to us to lead the way in marine conservation. And we would rather spend our time and money on the ocean and planet that we love than anywhere else.

Which is why we're so pleased to see other Canadian dive centres following in our footsteps. It's our hope that the work we're doing with Project AWARE and with marine conservation in general will continue to encourage other dive centres to take steps in the right direction.

Not everyone will share our single-minded passion for the environment and that's OK. You don't need to do everything we do, but why not take the first step in helping save our oceans.

If you're a scuba diver, please take time this year to join us for one of our conservation activities. That can be as simple as dropping by our shop or our facebook page to sign a petition, or by gearing up and jumping in the water for a clean-up.

If you're a dive professional or a dive centre, we encourage you to adopt the 100% Aware program to support Project Aware. Or why not schedule a conservation or education activity at your dive centre? If you want to talk to us to see how easy it can be, feel free to contact us at Action Scuba.

We hope that following our example, we'll soon see more dive centres including conservation as part of their curriculum. This is one time we will be happy to be imitated!