Project AWARE's online environmental community working together for ocean protection.
Blue Guru Conservation is based on the remote tropical island of Koh Phra Thong, accessed by traditional long tail boat from Kuraburi on the Andaman Coast.
Blue Guru is the closest PADI Dive Resort to Richelieu Rock, Thailand's top dive spot and commonly called a worldwide top 10 dive site. Richelieu Rock, which is located in Surin National Park, is most famous for whale shark sightings. Blue Guru therefore conducts its PADI Whale Shark specialty dives here and at Koh Tachai, the most northerly island in Similans National Park. Data & photos of whale sharks & manta rays spotted whilst diving at these sites are submitted to online databases to contribute to research. In 2011 we have spotted more manta rays than in previous years at Richelieu Rock and Surin Islands.
4 species of turtle come to breed on the protected beaches of Surin National Park and on Koh Phra Thong's 15kms of undeveloped beach. There has been a turtle monitoring project conducted on Koh Phra Thong for over 10 years, with daily walks between Dec-Apr to look for signs of turtle nests. Blue Guru offers PADI Turtle Awareness specialty course & conducts regular beach clean ups to help reduce plastic in our local seas, which threatens the turtle population.
Our house reefs at Koh Phra Thong are regenerating well following Tsunami damage in 2004 & coral bleaching in 2010. Blue Guru conducts Project AWARE Coral Watch survey dives to monitor health & has established a small artificial reef to encourage further new growth. Marine life comes to breed in the nearby mangroves and our local dive sites are the nursery ground for a wide diversity of juvenile fish.
Blue Guru has trained 2 local Thai boys from DSD to Rescue and will continue their training up to PADI divemaster level on a pro bono basis. Our aim is to give these boys an alternative career to fishing and to create local ambassadors for the protection of our local reefs & marine life. They have so far been involved in reef clean ups to see the impact of discarded fishing nets. They also helped discover new offshore reefs, with a great diversity of corals & marine life.
Blue Guru offers the whole range of PADI Dive Courses, including a choice of 20 specialties. These include many environmentally-conscious specialties: Whale Shark, Turtle Awareness, Project AWARE, Coral Reef Conservation, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Naturalist & AWARE Fish Identification. Blue Guru also arranges eco-education liveaboard trips offering excellent learning & diving opportunities in Similan & Surin National Parks and Burma.
Blue Guru's permanent staff include a PADI Master Instructor, who is wholeheartedly committed to protection of the aquatic environment; a PADI Specialty Instructor, who is passionate about conservation of local & National Park reefs; and a PADI Divemaster with a marine biology degree & valuable capabilities in fish identification & coral restoration.
If you are interested in getting involved in any of Blue Guru's environmental education or conservation activities, please check out the website: www.blue-guru.org and contact Helen by email: helen@blue-guru.org
Blue Guru is so proud to have been involved in the world's biggest Dive for Debris.
On 29+30 September, over 15 tonnes of rubbish was collected by 650 divers & beach cleaners with 14 dive boats participating as part of a Go Eco Phuket initiative.
Blue Guru's Course Director, Helen Macnee, was part of the...
The views, actions and activities posted by participants on My Ocean are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Project AWARE Foundation.
