Turn your Duke of Ed journey into real‑world impact.
Green Heroes works with young people on the Tweed Coast to complete their Voluntary Service, Skills and Physical Recreation sections — through marine conservation, citizen science and practical ocean education at Cook Island Aquatic Reserve.
A healthier ocean starts with people like you.
The Award asks you to commit to four sections. Green Heroes is set up to support three of them at Cook Island Aquatic Reserve — so your volunteering, your skill and your physical recreation all point at the same thing: a healthier ocean.
Marine citizen science and reef survey work that feeds directly into conservation decisions.
Underwater photography, species identification, data collection and environmental leadership.
Snorkelling and scuba, built up week by week with a qualified instructor.
Your school or Award Unit will usually run this. We can point you to local providers.
Get outside, learn new skills and contribute to conservation projects happening right here in the Tweed. Every observation you record goes into the Cook Island Living Atlas — a real dataset used by real researchers.
Get hands‑on with marine conservation while helping document the biodiversity of Cook Island Aquatic Reserve.
Students completing their Bronze Voluntary Service.
Take your citizen science skills further and become a more independent contributor to our marine conservation projects.
Students completing their Silver Voluntary Service.
Take on greater responsibility, develop leadership skills and contribute to long‑term conservation projects.
Students completing their Gold Voluntary Service.
The Award’s own minimum is one hour a week for the length of the section. The commitments above are the Green Heroes program schedule, which sits at or above that minimum. Timeframes shown assume progressive entry — direct entrants at Silver or Gold serve the longer period. Cost should never be the reason a young person misses out: talk to us about supported places.
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in nature.— Anonymous
Build practical skills, gain experience and discover where your interests in the environment, ocean and outdoors could take you. These programs sit outside your Voluntary Service — they can count toward your Skills and Physical Recreation sections, or stand on their own.
Get certified. Dive deeper. Discover what lives beneath the surface.
Develop scuba diving skills while learning to identify marine species, understand reef ecosystems and contribute to marine citizen science.
Certification pathway and minimum age to be confirmed with our dive partner before publication.
Turn your camera into a scientific tool.
Learn how to photograph, identify and document marine species while contributing observations to the Cook Island Living Atlas.
Certification pathway and minimum age to be confirmed with our dive partner before publication.
Turn your passion for the ocean into action.
Develop leadership, communication and environmental education skills while working alongside Green Heroes on real conservation projects.
Certification pathway and minimum age to be confirmed with our dive partner before publication.
You don’t have to pick one. The three programs are built to stack — each one assumes what you learned in the last. A young person can begin alongside their Bronze Award and still be with us, leading survey teams, by the time they finish Gold.
Get in the water safely and confidently. Learn what you’re looking at.
Record it properly. Your photographs become data other people rely on.
Take others with you. Run projects, mentor newcomers, speak for the reserve.
Figures with a dotted underline are placeholders — supply the verified numbers before this goes to the Award office.
Talk to us about which section you need to complete and when you’d like to start.
