Day Three
Day Three was a ‘show what you know’ day of sorts as the participants were given the majority of the day to create educational posters and full lesson plans showing how they could incorporate environmental education into standard outcomes in the Ugandan primary curriculum. Exploring themes such as animal classification, the water cycle, soil, energy, and plant uses, the participants collaborated on some well thought-out posters and presented these to their peers. They then had the afternoon to work on their full-lesson plans, where they surprised us on how easily they were able to integrate E.E into their own classroom subjects. One group in particular came up with an ingenious religious studies lesson on the appreciation for God’s natural creations, which was a subject we never foresaw the possibility of cross-curricular instruction in.
Day Four
On the final day of the workshop we were loaded into a seat-spinning, engine-shaking contraption passing itself off as a bus and headed to the Busingiro forest education centre. Met by incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides, we were treated to a presentation similar to one geared to P6 students before heading out on an authentic forest walk. Though slightly disappointed at not seeing any wild chimps, the participants eagerly viewed decomposers through binoculars, and made some great connections to the food web experience the previous day. We were then led through some interactive activities designed to explore harmful and helpful environmental actions, and finished with a final discussion on the impact we have on our surroundings. After travelling back to Aribas and eating lunch, we were treated to the lesson plans the participants had worked so diligently on the day before. The presentations were outstanding. It was sometimes hard to know how much of what we were facilitating was being taken in, so it was wonderful to see many of the concepts and features of E.E integration visible in each lesson. Once the presentations were finished (to much applause) Aidan led a session on facilitation, trying hard to stress that each participant had a responsibility to share what he or she had learned in order to really maximise the potential of our workshop. After filling out a post-evaluation form, we began the presentation of the much awaited certificates and were able to treat the Ugandan teachers to some celebratory wine and goodies (kindly tracked down by Michael). The night ended with many email exchanges and promises to keep in touch about how we were all going to move forward with the knowledge gained. All of us agreed the workshop had been a very worthwhile experience, and very much hope the funding will permit the programme to continue!
Melanie
