The room had been transformed into an undersea fantasy: halls lined in blue and green satin resembled seaweed and salt water while floating balloon fish and jellyfish lanterns bobbed at eye level. The Caribbean Calypso beat “Under the Sea” pulsed as guests entered the space, welcomed by cascading bubbles and underwater video footage projected in grand scale on the walls. Belgian scuba instructor and ocean advocate, Tori Daenen, was celebrating her 40th birthday in style with 60 of her closest friends and family at her side.

If you’re trying to live a more sustainable life, there are probably some specific words that you look for when choosing the products you bring into your home, such as: recyclable, biodegradable, etc. Although these words have a sustainable connotation, they don’t always guarantee that you’re making a planet-friendly choice.

“When you’re a diver, you’re going to run across turtles with missing limbs,” Kim Porter shars bluntly. Though at first a bit shocking, Kim’s matter-of-fact statement reflects an unfortunate truth that too many divers know well: marine debris is not only unsightly, it’s incredibly dangerous to ocean animals and their environments.

Since Project AWARE started in 1992 as a marine conservation nonprofit organisation, many PADI divers have shown their support for ocean protection when completing a PADI training course by making a small donation to receive the Project AWARE version of their PADI certification card.