Training courses
Dive into Conservation!
Course enquiries
We try to run the courses early in the year so that people have the maximum time to be out and recording, but autumn/winter courses are also arranged.
Additional courses will be added if/when there is sufficient demand. We can also organise courses for clubs and dive centres. To enquire about additional courses, contact info@seasearch.org.uk or your nearest Seasearch coordinator.
There is a series of talks on marine matters also being run on line. As these are organised the information below will be updated. Click here to navigate to the talks section.
How to sign up for a course
You will need to contact the relevant course organiser – see below. It is also worth going on to Facebook and searching for your nearest group. Most regions have a Facebook group and this can be quite a useful way of linking up with people and finding out more information about courses and organised surveys.
Seasearch also has a main Facebook page which you can also join and ask questions on: Seasearch Facebook Group. It is a private group, but if you have an interest in marine life, you won’t be turned away!
Where additional information has been provided for each course, this has been pasted below the course dates table. If no additional information is available, please just email the course organiser, they can then directly provide you with course information and answer any questions.
Training course dates can be found in the table below
| Course Date(s) | Type of course | Region | Location | Co-ordinator contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11th April 2026 | Observer Course | Dorset | Dorset Diving services, Poole | hampshire@seasearch.org.uk |
| 18-19 April 2026 | Observer Course | Cumbria | Kendal | seasearchnw@gmail.com |
| 09-10 May 2026 | Observer Course | Kent | Ramsgate lifeboat station | info@seasearch.org.uk |
| 16 May 2026 | Observer Course | Sussex | Brighton & Hove | Eventbrite Booking |
| 16-17 May 2026 | Conference | Essex | Harwich | info@seasearch.org.uk |
| 24th May 2026 | Observer Course | London | Richmond | hampshire@seasearch.org.uk |
| 11-12 July 2026 | Observer Course | Norfolk | Sherringham | info@seasearch.org.uk |
18 - 19 April 2026, Observer Course in Cumbria
09-10 May 2026, Observer course in Kent
Saturday will be the theory day held at Ramsgate lifeboat station. Sunday will be the practical day at Walpole Bay tidepool, Margate
Anyone can do the theory day and take part in intertidal practicals. If you want to take part as a diver (and the weather plays ball!), you need to be at least BSAC Sport, PADI AOW or similar with 20 open water dives, of which at least 10 must be in UK sea conditions.
The cost will be £65 for the theory day, or £75 to include a copy of ‘A field guide to the marine fishes of Wales and adjacent areas’ by Frances Dipper – a fantastic guide book with an unfortunately limiting title! There will also be a voluntary donation to the Ramsgate lifeboat crew for use of their classroom. We will have many other useful guidebooks for sale on the day!
The practical sessions are free of charge and attendance is voluntary. You will need to complete at least 2 practicals with a tutor present and another 3 on your own to qualify, so this is a good opportunity to get as many done as you can.
Questions and booking form requests can be made to Dawn (info@seasearch.org.uk). A blank booking form is also available in the FB group for the course, which can be found here: FaceBook.
16-17 May 2026, Seasearch Conference in Essex
- This conference is open to all keen Seasearchers – coordinators, tutors, form fillers and special friends. It will be held in Harwich, Essex, as we have exclusive use of a hall that can hold 100 people for the full weekend, from Friday evening to Monday morning
- The weekend can be extended by arriving on the 15 May and leaving on the 18th May. But there is also the possibility of staying on for some shore dives and surveys at Wrabness, Orfordness and Aldeburgh over the following week.
- The conference will comprise of two days of lectures and workshops including crustacean ID, data entry into MRO, plankton collection demonstration, getting more out of form filling – other more exciting subjects TBA!
- There are 2 good low tides a day in the early morning and early evening and there are several brilliant surveying sites within easy walking distance of the hall where you can find a host of alien invasives and a good selection of intertidal seaweeds for ID – recent winter trips have turned up Watersipora, Haliclona xena, Hemigrapsus takanoi and several cool things like nudibranchs and wentletraps. This is also the place for picking up fossilised shark teeth – something for everyone!
- You’ll need to get yourself to Harwich and find somewhere to stay – we can put you in touch with people who have free floor/bed space or room for a tent. Harwich has great rail links due to the ferry port, so arriving by train or car is no problem, though there’s not much free parking around the town centre. The conference is free to attend, though we’ll need to know who to expect for insurance reasons and any donations will be gratefully received. There’s a FB group here for useful info/arranging car shares/making sure your worst enemy isn’t attending.
11-12 July 2026, Observer Course in Norfolk
This course will be held at Sheringham YHA for the theory day and Sheringham beach for Saturday’s practical. Sunday’s practical will be at West Runton beach.:
Anyone can do the theory day and take part in the intertidal practicals, snorkellers will need to be suitably experienced in UK seas, divers will need to be at least BSAC Sport/PADI AOW or similar with 20 open water dives, of which at least 10 must be in UK sea conditions.
The course cost will be £65, or £75 with a copy of Frances Dipper’s brilliant -Inshore fishes of Wales and adjacent waters’ ID guide, refreshers who still have their qualification booklet can attend for £10.
For more information, click on the FB group for the course information. Blank booking forms will appear on the FaceBook page shortly, or just Dawn via email: info@seasearch.org.uk
More courses and questions?
If you have any further questions then please feel free to contact the course co-ordinator, or send an email to info@seasearch.org.uk
If you are wondering about that “type of course” means, then head over to the Recording Data page and you can find out more about the different courses. The standard courses are for filling in the Observation Form (first step), then the Survey Form (more advanced). But seasearch also runs some specialist courses for recording other features of interest like Sea Fan Surveys, Crawfish Recording and Sea Cave Surveys. But do remember, all of the courses are about recording marine life and physical habitats, they won’t teach you to dive – that is your responsibility.
