So, our friend, you think the in-person weekend is the main point of Gorilla Highlands Ambassador Training (GHAT)? Think again. Those three days are the appetiser, not the main course: the vibes, the smiles, the shared meals, the chance for phone numbers to get names and faces. That’s where we tackle the practical stuff that refuses to work well through a screen. The knowledge feast begins once everyone has reached home.
Sure, learning on your own from PDFs and doing homework every day is not easy. It’s much more entertaining to discuss responsible tourism in a group setting and hear everyone’s opinions than to stare at words in a digital book! But what can we do? We can’t keep everyone together for weeks …
During the month of digital study that we have entered — Homework #4 was delivered today, together with three pages of reading — it may not be as simple to make eye contact as on a morning canoe ride. But a lot can also be achieved with text and emojis, buddy!
Last weekend we were still together at Lake Bunyonyi, still shouting as much as we wanted. Now we are limited to typing into a WhatsApp group, but stories and anecdotes keep flowing. For some it may actually be easier this way?
In real life you can have a face-to-face with an otter at a local museum, true, but in the online world you can research that animal to the very last bit of information. “Find your specialist field of knowledge,” we advise. Freshwater wildlife, perhaps?
How cool was it to have a herbalist talk us through medicinal plants?! Listening to your fellow trainees present the flora and fauna of our highlands was enriching too, for sure. But tell us, can anybody stop you from continuing to share what you know over WhatsApp?
It’s just a month. A demanding one, yet just a month. If you put all you’ve got into it, for about an hour per day, you should pass the final exam smoothly and join the ranks of certified Gorilla Highlands Ambassadors. It feels sweeter when you have to work hard for it, doesn’t it?
And at the end you will jump with joy, knowing you completed GHAT in 2026, the year it all started. How will it continue in 2027? We do have some ideas cooking!
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