Gorilla trekking, the workshop and home again...

Even though I am officially back in Canada I couldn't leave the blog without finishing off the rest of the trip and most importantly telling everyone about the workshop.
When I last left the blog I was on my way from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Ruhija in Bwindi National Park. The drive from QENP to Ruhija was a long one....7 hours in fact and in true Ugandan style there were 7 of us (including all of our luggage and all of the supplies for the workshop) in a van that was suppose to seat 5. It was mighty squashy but we made it work and even had many laughs along of the way. When we arrived in Ruhija that night we call couldn't wait to get out and stretch our legs and see where we were. The drive up had been several hours of switchback roads with a very large cliff on one side. (koodos has to be given to Ishamal, our driver, for his stellar work behind the wheel and for listening to 6 women for 7 hours in a cramped car!) We were welcomed by the staff of the ITFC (Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation) who were very helpful at showing us around and getting us settled in for the night. The ITFC would be my home for the next week because this is where the workshop would take place.
The next morning we were up bright and early to head to the ranger post for our gorilla trekking briefing. We also got our first look at our surroundings and they were beautiful!! When we met our guide he explained how the day would work, what to expect and that they wouldn't leave any of us in the rainforest! After the briefing we made our way to the entry point and we were off. Our guides (including our initial contact, our machete guy (the one who makes the trails) and our protector (the guy with the gun)) were in contact with our scout team (the group of trekkers who go out at dawn to find out where the gorillas are so that they can lead us on the most direct path). I think we were only on the actual trail for 15 mins before we took a sharp left turn into the actual forest. From there it was slow going because our front man had to cut through the dense foliage (it isn't called Bwindi Impenetrable Park for nothing!). It was also incredibly steep and slippery. It wasn't uncommon for someone to just fall over randomly! After a little over an hour of hiking, we got sight of our first gorilla! It was amazing!! I can't even begin to describe what it is like to step into the world of the gorilla, to see them just doing what they do. We got a chance to see the silverback (alpha male of the group), several females and even a young one! It was something I will never forget!
The next day it was time to start the workshop. The participants had traveled along way from home to join us and we wanted to make sure that they got the most out of the experience. In total we had 28 teachers from the surrounding areas. Over the next 4 days we worked with the teachers to help them learn about cooperative teaching methods, experiential learning, how to incorporate environmental education into the curriculum and we discussed many environmental issues that are affecting Uganda. We finished by helping them to create a school environmental action plan. A very detailed plan of a project that they would implement with their students and communities when they returned to their homes. We also talked about how they could teach other teachers from their schools what they had learned so that other teachers could get on board. The teachers that participated were very hard working and dedicated to the task at hand, it was great to see them so enthusiastic about what we were talking about.
It was a great 4 days and I believe that everyone involved learned alot (myself included)! A couple of my favourite memories from the workshop...
- The second night of the workshop Shannon (another Canadian teacher) and I walked into the nearby village with some of the participants. It was our first chance to talk to them outside of the classroom setting and it was really nice to get to talk to them on a more personal level. We all had tons of questions about the others that we wanted answered (how cold does it actually get in Canada...lol) and it was a chance for us to do that.
-The third day, we went for a walk into the forest with the participants. Some of them had never had the opportunity before and it was great to get them more involved with what we were talking about. Other people had grown up very close to the forest and had lots of great knowledge to share about the plants that grow in the forest.
-The last day, we asked the participants to put on a short play about an human/wildlife conflict that they saw in their community and present a solution to that problem. The participants got really into it. They even made costumes (which was great considering we didn't give them much prep time)! It was fun to see everyone so active and to see the issues that they faces. I don't think anyone over here has ever had to deal with elephants trampling their gardens!
The workshop was a fabulous experience and I hope that the Ugandan teachers are able to take what they learned and put it into practice. I hope that I can do the same!