Our Programs | Reef Buddy

Real conservation work. Real reefs. Real change.
Whether you join us in the Philippines or the Caribbean, you're not here to watch — you're here to dive in.

What We Actually Do.

Reef Buddy runs hands-on marine conservation programs in Dauin, Philippines and Carriacou, Caribbean. You'll survey reefs and collect the data researchers and partner organizations actually use — but you'll also get your hands dirty: growing coral in our nurseries, transplanting it back onto damaged reef, and physically removing invasive species that are killing the ones we're trying to save.

This isn't data collection for its own sake. It's data collection that feeds directly into the restoration work you're doing at the same time — and because it's gathered to an internationally recognized standard, it can be compared against reef sites anywhere else in the world, not just filed away locally.

You don't need diving experience to start. You need curiosity, a decent level of fitness, and a willingness to get in the water most days.

Why Volunteer With Us?

It's not busywork. Reef Check surveys, coral watch monitoring, invasive species removal, coral gardening — this is data that goes somewhere, not tasks invented to keep volunteers occupied.

You'll actually learn to dive, properly. Most volunteers arrive with little or no diving experience and leave PADI certified, sometimes several levels deep.

There's a real path, not just a placement. Start as a Reef Buddy, and if it grabs you, keep going — Reef Guardian, then Reef Divemaster. Some of our team started exactly where you are now.

You'll have an actual life while you're here. Island time, a team that becomes friends fast, and enough downtime to enjoy the place you're living in, not just the work you're doing.