One of the assets of the Asa Wright Nature Centre is its cadre of knowledgable and courteous guides/interpreters who conduct tours both on and off the Nature Centre’s premises. Guides/interpreters are recruited from among suitably qualified secondary school graduates and graduates of the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry. After two years of in-house training at the Nature Centre, they attend the Audubon Ecology Workshop in Connecticut and gain additional experience through internships at nature centres in the United States.
At present, there are seven guides/interpreters at the Asa Wright Nature Centre and six driver-guides who conduct off-the-premises birdwatching trips to various parts of Trinidad. Among them are two of Trinidad and Tobago’s most experienced and knowledgable bird-watching guides, Jogie Ramlal and his brother Roodal. Jogie was employed as a driver-guide in 1974 and Roodal joined the team in the 1980s. Recently, Mahase Ramlal and Dave Ramlal, sons of Jogie and Roodal respectively, joined the Asa Wright Nature Centre family as guides.
Most of the staff of the Asa Wright Nature Centre are residents of Arima and nearby villages and it is estimated that more than 200 people are directly dependent on the operations of the Asa Wright.
The Management of the AWNC recognises the importance of having a trained, efficient and courteous workforce, and provides ongoing in-house training programmes for its staff. Suitably qualified staff with the desire to improve their academic standing have been sent to school full-time at the Nature Centre’s expense.
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