Volunteer Dive Program
Join the ranks of the New York Aquarium Dive Team!
Between tending to our animal habitats, interacting with our visitors, and assisting the keepers with any other tasks that might require underwater support we do over two thousand dives a year.
Directly contribute to the mission of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Help save wildlife and wild places.
Educate and inform our visitors about the underwater world we love as divers.
Learn about marine wildlife and ecosystems.
Gain more experience and more training as a diver.
Go diving, every other week, all year round.
You can do all of those things at the same time as a volunteer member of the New York Aquarium Dive Team!
General Requirements
- Able to commit to working one full day, 8am–5pm, every other week for at least the next year.
- Volunteers must be at least 21 years of age.
- Certified scuba diver from an internationally recognized agency, rescue diver certification preferred.
- Minimum of 25 logged dives including at least 3 logged in the past 12 months.
- Ready to work collaboratively with a diverse group of divers from all over the tri-state area
Orientation & Onboarding
A virtual volunteer orientation is generally scheduled in the early spring each year, followed by in-person onboarding sessions during divers learn the basic procedures of safe aquarium diving and participate in a checkout dive to check buoyancy and basic dive skills. Following onboarding and a successful checkout dive, divers are scheduled to start with one of our biweekly dive teams, which come in every Saturday and Sunday as well as alternating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
To be added to the email list for our next orientation, or if you’re interested in a more intensive aquarium diving internship, please email Nelson Torres at nntorres@wcs.org.
Document Requirements
The following documents are required for all volunteer divers at NYA:
- NYA Dive Medical form
- Volunteer Diver Release form
- Quiz covering volunteer diver handbook
- Photocopy of highest level dive certification card
- Photocopy of last 25 dive log pages or all pages
Forms:
PLEASE DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS TO NELSON TORRES AT nntorres@wcs.org
