Freediving for a cause – what an experience! Be sure to check out the video at the end of the post!
Vincent Sparreboom certified these eight lady eco-warriors of Danjugan
The very reason we started freediving was to use this as a tool for ocean’s conservation. Kapit Sisid gave us this opportunity – we trained conservationists into freedivers! We hit two birds with one stone – ocean conservation, and giving back to the Filipino community! Now, these eco-warriors are equipped with new knowledge to effectively monitor and conserve the reefs they work on.
Kapit Sisid
Founded by Tara Abrina, this project aims to empower coastal communities and eco-warriors by teaching them how to freedive. She marries her two passion – marine conservation and freediving. This is her fourth batch of selected individuals trained to be freedivers.
Danjugan island Environmental Education Program
A noble and idealistic endeavor to teach biodiversity, conservation, ecology, and climate change issues that takes place in a magical island of Danjugan. They have arranged that some of their scholars be given proper freediving training to be equipped in a more cost-effective and efficient way to monitor and conserve their marine environment.
The training
The same as the regular classes for Freediving in Bohol, we started off with a theory session explaining the physiology – what goes on with an individual’s body as it freedives. Breathing techniques were also taught to make the students get relaxed better and quicker, making them conserve oxygen efficiently.
After a healthy lunch, we proceeded for a confined water session. This is where we taught the students the necessary skills for deep diving, as well as rescue procedure in case of a blackout. Afterwards, we went to deeper parts of the Danjugan reef for the 10 meter diving. The students enjoyed it so much, relieving them from the pressure and mentality that freediving was difficult – they found out that it was addicting! Their faces were lit with pleasure and happiness – they wanted to dive more.
Next day, we did some stretching then headed for another session. This time, it was serious diving as they had to accomplish the requirements to pass the course. Later in the afternoon, they took the written exam and everybody passed.
For the final session the next morning, it was a fun dive along the amazing reef of Danjugan. There, the kataws showed us their incredibly rich marine biodiversity featuring an endangered species, Napoleon wrasse or locally known as Mameng. They also had a black tip shark, schools of snappers, sweetlips, surgeonfish, giant clams, massive table corals, and many more. We spent some time with a sea turtle that was just snoozing between corals too. All these fantastic sightings were done with proper and responsible interaction with marine life by staying a good distance away from them.
