First training course at Pl@ntNet in Uganda

Each training session included a theoretical phase in the classroom during the morning, for the presentation of the Pl@ntNet project, the various achievements for its development in Central Africa, and a presentation of the platform's various features. The afternoon was devoted to a practical phase in the vicinity of the training room, to gain a better understanding of the tool.

The training sessions took place at Makerere University Herbarium in Kampala on October 9 and 10, at the Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project station in Sebitoli, run by Professor Sabrina Krief (MNHN), co-leader of Pillar 1 in the OFVi project, on October 13 and 14, and at the Makerere University Biological Field Station, located in Kibale National Park in Kanyawara, on October 15. A total of 125 people participated, most of them students or research professors from Makerere University in Kampala, as well as members of the Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project field teams.

Several other academic institutions such as Busitema University, Kampala International University, Mountains of the Moon University, and Muni University were represented, as were several governmental and non-governmental organizations. These included ENAR Consult, Entebbe Botanical Gardens, International Center for Research in Agroforestry, Join Effort to Save the Environment, Kabarole District Local Government, Kibale Chimpanzee Project, including their teams dedicated to education (Kibale Forest School Program) and conservation (Kibale Snare Removal Program), Kinyampanika Chimpanzee Conservation Development Association, Kyaninga Forest Foundation, National Agricultural Research Organization, Sieem Safaris, Tooro Botanical Gardens, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and Wildspace Data Analytics.

October 16 was devoted to studying the vegetation surrounding Kibale National Park with the assistance of a field guide whom we trained in the use of the application for this occasion. The guide's knowledge of the surrounding vegetation enabled us to enrich the platform for the flora of tropical East Africa.

A satisfaction questionnaire comprising nine closed questions was completed by 111 of the 125 participants who attended the training sessions. Analysis of the results shows that all participants plan to use the Pl@ntNet app in their professional and personal lives (82% regularly and 18% occasionally), almost all would recommend it to their network (89% definitely and 10% probably), and most were satisfied with the training (44% very satisfied and 49% satisfied). During this first training session in Uganda, 122 Pl@ntNet accounts were created and 715 observations corresponding to 334 species were shared on the platform.