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

Day One
The first day of the workshop was filled with nervous and eager anticipation as we finished our last minute set-up and lesson preparation. Before the participants arrived, we headed out to Kabalega school in Masindi for our final primary school visit. After sitting in on P3 and P4 lessons we were treated to a marvelous display of song and dance as the choir students performed two pieces that advanced them into the district finals for us. Their performance was one of indescribable joy, and I hope we might be able to display a video Courtney took on our website in the near future. After returning to Hotel Aribas, our participants began to trickle in, and by dinner most had arrived. We finished off the night with a few ice-breakers, which was a great way to ease the trepidation any were feeling. The room was soon filled with flying balls and laughter, and we ended the day knowing most of each other’s names and feeling excited about what lay ahead.

Day Two
Our second day was a long (very long!) and jam packed day, filled with sessions on environmental education, cooperative and experiential learning, as well as multiple intelligence theory. As much as possible, we tried to practise what we preached, and led the Ugandan teachers through an interactive food web, and animal identity activity. Our participants were troopers and stayed very engaged from 8:30 to 6:30, and the knowledge they amassed was evident in the lesson plans and posters they developed the following days. The PACE videos we showed on environmental initiatives in East Africa sparked some interesting debate on access and funding, and many of our participants raised thought-provoking questions about new ideas introduced to them throughout the day. In addition to Courtney’s hit game Mingle Mingle, our Planet Earth movie night proved to generate much lively enthusiasm. The atmosphere was one of a sporting event as the men wildly cheered on the predators, and the women the prey, in the high-octane chase scenes. Watching animals in unfamiliar environments such as the Arctic tundra and deep undersea was fascinating for most and Planet Earth movie night quickly became an anticipated part of our nightly routine.

Melanie

Before exploring the purpose of our trip to Uganda, the workshops, one of our JGI team members deserves to be recognised. Micheal (our JGI driver)’s linguistic and navigational skills, sense of humor, and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty helped ensure our success and he more than left his mark on both us and the workshop participants. Webale nnyo, Michael!

Our first holiday-week excursion led us to the Budongo forest for a wild chimp trek (we had seen these guys in action on Ngamba, and wanted more!). Our guide promised us a three hour walk; however, warned us that because the chimps were wild there was no guarantee we would come across them. The flora and fauna in the forest were beautiful and well worth the walk, though the absence of any chimpanzees was becoming more and more apparent as the hours ticked by. Finally, after two hours and fifty-eight minutes in the bush we came across another guide who had just returned from leading a group to the chimps. We quickly found the location they had chosen for their nesting and spent the next hour necks-craned watching their antics high up in the trees.  Watching them in their natural habitat was astounding and definitely a highlight of the week!

On Friday we were picked up from Travellers Corner and made our way down a long and bumpy road before arriving at Paraa for two days of safari. Our four hour game drive in the morning was filled with exciting glimpses of the Big 5 (we managed to see all but the elusive leopard), and the highlight was definitely the chance to watch a lioness and her two young cubs tussle and tumble in the reeds on the banks of the Nile. In the afternoon we took a boat ride down the Nile, passing by bloats of hippos and crocodiles lying stealthily in wait mouths agape. Our guides pointed out the location where Hemingway’s plane crashed and showed us the forest where he and his wife were obliged to spend the night. Once at Murchison Falls we climbed out onto the rocks for some photo ops before returning down the river for our final night at camp.

Sunday morning saw us driving back up to the falls in a van filled with unrelenting tsetse flies, overpowering Deet fumes, and our fellow travelling companions. We had a lovely hike to the top of the falls and then climbed down into a shower of mist on the rocks before scrambling back up to the van and heading to our new home for the week in Masindi, the Hotel Aribas. The workshop countdown had begun!

Melanie

A few things struck me about the feedback. Firstly, many participants, when asked if they wanted to say anything to those that funded us (thanks again, by the way!), responded that they wanted funding to continue. Sure, fair enough – workshops are good, but one thing that we really tried to bring home was that they were doing this workshop so that they could go back to their communities and be facilitators of similar workshops. Essentially, that would make more funding irrelevant. Although not all of them got that, some did, and after all the videos were taken, during our final session, we really tried to drive that point home.

Secondly, I was impressed that so many of our participants chose to highlight so many different parts of the workshop in their videos. JGI did a great job in putting together an excellent workshop schedule!

It was a real pleasure to do this project. More updates and videos to come!

Courtney

It is hard to find words to express our once in lifetime experience on Ngamba Island. For me it will be a mystical landscape, where a diversity of creatures are fortunate enough to live where it is safe and appreciable to be wild. Dreams are made of places like these. I found myself being so thankful that I got to experience a behind the scenes look into an organization that not only practices what it preaches, from compost toilets to solar-powered water heater, but also employs people with so much passion for what they do.
And lets not forget the chimpanzees! I really understand now how Jane Goodall found a lifelong passion for chimpanzees. I could have stayed there and watched them forever. They are magnificent and we can truly learn more about our own nature from them. It was an adventure that has enriched my life. It has inspired me to continue to hold hope close to my heart and fight for a future where we live in harmony with our environments, and especially our closest relatives.

Mel

Incredible doesn’t begin to describe the two days we spent at the Ngamba Island chimp sanctuary.   We arrived on the island after a wonderfully rough boat trip across Lake Victoria, to be greeted by an extraordinarily knowledgeable and friendly staff. After a quick island tour we were quickly put to work, chopping fruits and vegetables for our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. We then got to test our arm strength as we tossed the (literal) fruits of our labour down from the viewing platform. It was amazing to see the different chimp personalities become apparent, as well as the antics the chimps used to draw our attention (and hopefully our aim). Hand clapping, whistling, and somersaulting, were some of the tactics successfully employed.
We were then given a spur of the moment opportunity to visit the Myende community on one of the near by islands. Originally a temporary fishing village, the community has set up a permanent establishment, and now, finally has a school for the many children living there. The head teacher invited us in, and it was eye-opening to see the difference between the comparably well furnished St. Thereza’s in Entebbe. The school is currently working on a garden project, though has to overcome the challenges of monstrous (4 feet tall!) ant hills, as well as cows. After our island experience, we enjoyed a delicious four course meal, and bedded down in our lakeside raised tent. Our nearby British neighbour awoke to a mongoose running over him in the night (though luckily the same experience did not befall us).
We awoke in the morning to what I expect will be the highlight of the trip (if not of our lives). We joined eight chimpanzees on a forest walk, and got to experience the indescribable sensation of holding hands, piggybacking, running through troops of fire ants, kissing, grooming, and play fighting with the chimps. It was truly an unforgettable hour, and I would have been happy to spend the rest of the year on the island interacting with these amazing animals. Like Courtney said, it is so easy to understand why Jane dedicated her life to protect the chimpanzees. On the walk to the cabins there is a mantrap and the skeleton of the chimpanzee who dragged it 12 kilometres before finally giving up. After spending the weekend with the chimpanzees it is impossible to see how anyone could voluntarily harm a species so much like us. The rest of the day was spent feeding the chimps, and conversing with the staff who truly went out of their way to welcome us to the island and make our stay as meaningful as it was. It was clear how much they cared about the chimpanzees from the way they so eagerly they shared stories and experiences they had. In all, it was the experience of a lifetime, and I know I will be back on Ngamba Island in the future.

Chris

The more time passes between now and Ngamba, the more I realize how unique and incredible that experience really was. The things that come to mind as memorable are many: the kindness and passion of the staff, the sharp intelligence of the chimps, the beauty of our surroundings, the fabulously lush ecology of the island. However what really stood out among everything was the chimp walk that we did.
The staff took us through the gates of the electrified fence, past the habitats and the feeding area, and we emerged into the world of the chimps. After a day of throwing food of the observation platform at our goofy friends, suddenly we were on the other side of the fence, looking up at where we usually stood. A troop of eight chimps came out of their nightime habitat and greeted us – as they approached our keepers said they were each selecting someone to carry them (I think they may have been taking advantage of us!). Looking into their eyes was different somehow than other animals – a different sort of communication was possible with these gentle creatures.
As we carried them into the forest, others ran around us, went through the trees, swung on vines, and otherwise behaved in very chimp-like ways. When we rested we groomed each other – as we walked the chimps would warn us of fire ants – as we walked back the only other male in the group kept playfighting with me to try to assert his dominance. We were truly a part of their family for that brief moment in time.
Looking back, what sticks with me now is not how human-like chimps are, but how chimp-like we are! I’d say that the gift of Ngamba was a fundamental shift in how I look at people, and how we are far less removed from nature than many of us may think.

Kampala traffic jam

Our trip to Kampala was fast paced much like the city itself.  We were dropped off here and there, to avoid having to park, which seemed presently unobtainable.  Whether gathering our workshop supplies, visiting a local market and stopping in at the post office our surroundings  seemed to embody the same high octant attitude…get it done and get out before the afternoon jam.  The city whirled around us and I strained to take everything in.  It was a great first glance at what, I suspect this historical city can offer.

Today was spent working on the workshop materials, reviewing movies, and playing frisbee, but by far the highlight of the day was the three hours we spent visiting St. Thereza’s Primary School, just up the road from the JGI Office. This school had seven hundred students, ranging from grades one to seven.

The first thing we did was meet with Emily, the head teacher. Here you can see her accepting a few donations which came from our funders! To this school, we gave three soccer balls, a pump, some cleats, half of the dontated books, and few soccer jerseys. Emily was speechless staring at all these gifts!

Each of us sat in on a class, one person each from grades one to four. They told us that if there was more than one Muzungu (white person) per class the kids would get too distracted for the teachers to be able to teach! We were all very impressed with the way the teachers taught their classes – despite the large class sizes (up to about 60 students) they were able to involve the students and delivered effective lessons. The teacher in the class I was sitting in on did a really interesting lesson in religious studies – although her topic in the textbook was “Challenges faced by religious leaders”, she was able to incorporate lessons about religious acceptance, diversity, being good students, and being good family members.

The grade fours learning about religion - the yellow blur in the front is their teacher.

We also toured some of the school’s facilities. Here are some of the notable features:

This water filter was donated by the Netherlands, and provides clean water for every student using a combination of the water system and rainwater harvesting. The cost of the system was 8000 USD or 16 million Ugandan Shillings (UGX).

Behind one of the buildings is a small clay hut where the teachers grow these mushrooms. They can buy the spores in Kampala, and within the hanging black plastic bags they inoculate balls of cotton and newspaper waste with the spores.

Once the mushrooms are harvested, they are cut up and laid out on the table and sheets on the floor, and dried. Once dry, they can be preserved and sold.