Outstanding in their Field: Featured REEF Field Station, Seattle Scuba

REEF is proud to partner with over 130 dive shops, dive clubs, individuals, and other organizations as REEF Field Stations.

Our Outstanding Field Station this month, Seattle Scuba, is based in the always-green but often-rainy Pacific NW. Yes, the water's cold there. Seattle Scuba is a full service facility that provides training, equipment rentals/sales, fun dives and more - all served up with an ample helping of personality and humor to their customers and friends. They are passionate not only about teaching diving, but about instilling awareness of the marine environment in divers. The REEF survey program is an ideal tool in this mission. Their training director/resident mermaid Heidi Wilken got involved in REEF surveying after encountering some fish geeks on a fun dive one day. Wanting to incorporate and support REEF's mission she decided to provide resources at Seattle Scuba. They have been a Field Station for about 4 years now. Now two of their training staff are REEF Advanced Assessment Team members (Heidi and David Todd). They hold periodic Fish Geek Dives, fish & invertebrate ID Classes, testing to move up in REEF Experience Levels, and offer a full range of Fish ID books for sale.

Heidi had this to say about Pacific NW diving: "Sometimes people look at Puget Sound and surrounding areas and think it will just be cold and dark - they have no idea of the colors and amazing critters that lurk beneath the surface! We are blessed to have not only lots of amazing and cool fish like the Red Irish Lord and the Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker, but also incredible invertebrate life, from the Giant Pacific Octopus to the tiny Opalescent Nudibranch." And what does Heidi like best about REEF? "You don't have to be a scientist to be involved, even if you can only identify ONE fish or invertebrate, you can contribute surveys - and you can do so to whatever level fits into your life, be it a survey a year or 200 a year." Her parting words: "Dive safe and survey often!" Thanks Heidi and the staff at Seattle Scuba - we're glad you're a REEF Field Station!