Welcome to DWp

Diving with a purpose

Restoring Our Oceans. Preserving Of Heritage.
Explore Ocean
About DWP

Who We Are

We are dedicated to the conservation and protection of submerged heritage resources by providing education, training, certification and field experience to adults and youth in the fields of maritime archaeology and ocean conservation. Our special focus is the protection, documentation and interpretation of African slave trade shipwrecks and the maritime history and culture of African Americans.
Our Programs

What We Offer

Applications Now Open for 2026

Maritime Archaeology Training Program

Our flagship program is an intense week-long course that teaches the basics of underwater archaeology to veteran divers.

Applications Now Open for 2026

DWP CARES Program

We educate and empower traditionally disenfranchised people as citizen scientists to help support coral ecosystem restoration efforts and to impact global climate change.

Applications Now Open for 2026

Youth Diving With a Purpose Program

DWP partners with the National Park Service in Florida’s Biscayne National Park to train young divers between the ages of 16 and 23…

So Far, We’ve

We’ve Reached

With the help of donations from supporters like you, we can offer more free trainings to youth in our Youth Diving With a Purpose (YDWP) program; we can fund a new division of YDWP in Costa Rica; we can train community dive monitors on Ilha de Mocambique (Mozambique Island) and in Africatown (Mobile, Alabama) to protect submerged heritage resources like slave shipwrecks. Donate now to support our work!
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Meet Our Divers

Experts Behind DWP Journey

Gayle Patrick

Instructor
Frank Fennell, Jr.
Diver
Justine Benanty
Lead Instructor
Kim Walker
Lead Instructor
Testimonial

What People Say About Us

Events

Beyond the Program

We Did It! Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Ceremony

On August 28, 2021, we dedicated a Port Huron memorial honoring the brave Tuskegee Airmen who died serving America.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson Hangs Out With DWP

In June 2019, Sam Jackson visited our Coral Restoration Program to film a documentary about global slave shipwrecks.

Our Featured Exhibit at the History of Diving Museum

In 2019, the History of Diving Museum hosted a six-month exhibit celebrating DWP’s fifteen-year mission of maritime memorialization and discovery.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our community for updates on shipwreck documentation and marine conservation efforts.