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Meet the full team, with certification cards →
SSIMarineEcology
Understand the reef you are swimming over: how organisms interact, how energy moves through the system, how habitats connect, what threatens them, and what a diver can actually do about it.
Open to divers and non-divers alike, from age six.
Written by The Scuba Duka team · Reviewed by Ali, founder and Divemaster Instructor · October 2026
Minimum age
No minimum
Prerequisite
None
Sessions
6 academic
Format
Digital learning — no diving
Typical duration
6 hours
Certification
SSI specialty recognition
Session counts, depths, ages and durations above are the public SSI programme figures. Your exact schedule, prerequisites and route are confirmed against current SSI standards, your instructor's ratings and the conditions of the week before your course begins.
What the programme covers
—How marine organisms interact
—Energy flow through a marine ecosystem
—How habitats link — mangrove, seagrass, reef
—The threats those systems face
—Why oceans matter beyond diving
—What individual divers can do that measurably helps
The Diani enrichment session
The SSI programme is delivered digitally. We add an optional local session so it does not stay abstract: coral as a living animal community, reef-fish interactions, mangrove to seagrass to reef connectivity, turtle foraging habitat, human pressure, marine debris, responsible wildlife viewing, and how a diver trim affects reef health.
Kenya Wildlife Service describes the Diani-Chale protected seascape as containing coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, offshore islands, dolphins, diverse fish and sea-turtle nesting grounds. A 2026 peer-reviewed habitat study of the reserve recorded 61.86% of turtle sightings in reef zones, with reef-slope habitat accounting for 26.7%. The Olive Ridley Project reports turtle photo-identification, habitat monitoring, education and citizen-science activity in the same seascape.
Those facts are teaching material. They are not a promise that you will see a turtle, and we do not present our guests as research participants — any formal collaboration would be named, agreed and published before we claimed it.
Who books it
—Non-diving partners and family members who want in on the trip
—Divers who have started asking what they are looking at
—Families and school groups
—Guests taking Perfect Buoyancy who want the reason behind the technique
Where you will train
Classroom, plus an optional shore, seagrass or reef interpretation session
Sites are chosen on the day for the conditions and for your stage of training, with a primary site, an alternate, and clear criteria for postponing. Tide, wind, visibility, current and entry condition are logged before every course day.
Before you arrive
Digital learning in MySSI
You create a MySSI profile, select The Scuba Duka as your Training Centre, and work through the digital materials on your phone at your own pace. Your training record, logged dives and certification card are kept in the app.
Medical disclaimer before you dive
A medical disclaimer forms part of the form you complete before diving. If anything on it applies to you, it goes to a physician — we are not doctors and will not clear you medically. Disclosures are kept confidential, and no schedule will be allowed to rush that.
What to bring
Swimwear, a towel and reef-safe sunscreen. Certification and logbook details if you already hold a qualification. Everything else — equipment, tanks, weights — is provided and fitted at the centre.
Two to four students
Small groups let the instructor watch your breathing, buoyancy and comfort, and repeat a skill until it feels easy.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to dive to take this course?
No. It is an academic programme with no certification prerequisite and no minimum age.
Can we do it on a rainy afternoon?
It is the ideal wet-afternoon course, and it makes every dive afterwards more interesting.
Is a dive included?
Not as an SSI requirement. Our local enrichment session is an optional Scuba Duka addition, not a guaranteed in-water component.
How much does it cost?
$160 per person, with the instructor, equipment, SSI digital materials and hotel pickup included. Certification and any park fees are confirmed at booking.
Where this sits in the pathway
Try Scuba→
Basic Diver→
Scuba Diver→
Open Water Diver→
Specialties & Advanced→
Stress & Rescue→
Dive Guide→
Divemaster
From the dive log
"interesting cool online class make it easier and a lot more fun when diving with this knowledge's" Tony, England
We ask permission before quoting or photographing any guest, and we publish nothing without it.
Who you will dive with
Seven people run the centre, four of them born and raised in Diani Beach. Between the four instructors sit more than 13,000 logged dives on this stretch of the Indian Ocean. Two qualified dive guides, Sampuli and Captain Michael, guide dives alongside them.
Ali
Founder · Divemaster Instructor25+ years diving in Kenya and abroad. Born and raised in Diani Beach.
Kassim
Scuba Instructor17+ years and 8,000+ logged dives, from Diani to Kisite Mpunguti. SSI and PADI certified.
Salim Swaleh
Scuba Instructor4,000+ logged dives on Diani sites. Teaches SSI beginner to specialty courses.
Omari
Scuba InstructorSSI and PADI Open Water Instructor, 1,000+ logged dives. Shoots underwater photo and video.
Sampuli
Dive GuideBorn and raised in Diani Beach. 100+ logged dives. Guides guest divers and runs equipment checks.
Michael
Dive Guide · Captain20+ years scuba diving and captaining boats. Handles the boat and guides dives.
