Project AWARE is excited to announce its newest Dive Against Debris Hero: Tim Latimer!

Tim’s journey into scuba diving wasn’t quite like most. In fact, he never really pursued diving in the first place! When he was in high school, faculty organized a trip to the Bahamas for the students – Tim was dying to go, but there was one small catch: students would be diving on the trip, and it was a requirement for any interested attendees to learn. Though he never had much interest in the sport, Tim reluctantly signed up for a scuba diving course and ended up loving it.

Fast forward to today and Tim’s affinity for scuba diving has led to an advanced professional career. He’s not only a seasoned diving instructor; in fact, he’s reached one of the highest levels in dive certifications – course director – which means that he instructs other dive instructors! Alongside his colleague, Gabrielle Holder, Tim has created Instructor Development Philippines, a program in which he and his colleagues lead PADI-certified scuba diving instructor development courses (IDCs).

With his passion for ocean protection and dedication to marine conservation, Tim has developed a special program within the instructor development course that includes Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris specialty course. While teaching other divers how to become qualified instructors, he also teaches them to lead Dive Against Debris efforts in their future interactions with dive students.

As part of their instructor development training program, all of Tim’s students are required to organize a Dive Against Debris. Newly certified instructors in his program are not only qualified to teach their students the Dive Against Debris specialty course, they also get the chance to make a direct positive change in the underwater environment and enjoy a dive together. Tim and his colleagues understand the influence that instructors have on dive students, and he explains that with that comes an increased responsibility to spread awareness and understand of important marine conservation issues like marine debris.

In his words: “Every time that an instructor teaches a new diver, there is an opportunity to instill in them a respect for the underwater world. It is up to instructors to inspire their students and drive them to make positive changes to help protect our ocean.”

By implementing Dive Against Debris specialty course training into the Instructor Development Philippines coursework, Tim’s conservation efforts have a ripple effect. By ‘teaching the teacher,’ Tim is helping to spread Dive Against Debris principles far and wide. He explains, “We want to empower dive instructors to be role models for marine conservation – no matter where they teach in the future.”

That’s what Dive Against Debris is really about – not just picking up trash every time we dive, but developing an ethic of responsibility to protect our underwater world. Project AWARE thanks Tim for his unparalleled efforts to incorporate the Dive Against Debris into his instructor development courses, and for acting as an ocean steward on behalf of the Dive Against Debris program.

Want to learn more about Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris Specialty? Divers, click here to learn more!

Dive professionals, going to DEMA 2015? Don’t miss Project AWARE’s exclusive Dive Against Debris workshops taking place November 4 – 6.