Welcome to the Ensworth Belize Blog!

Hi there - my name is Ben Gillock and I am the World Leadership School instructor for Ensworth's 2011 Belize trip.

I am currently sitting in the library of the Monkey Bay Wildlife Refuge, listening to the chirping of geckos. Tomorrow a group of 12 Ensworth students will leave their homes in Tennessee and launch themselves on an adventure of service, learning and leadership. Over the next 10 days they will have lots of fun exploring the incredible ecosystems and cultures of Belize. They will also confront many significant challenges - from dealing with the personal discomfort of being in a foreign land, to grappling with complex global issues like climate change and poverty.

We will spend much of our time at this amazing preserve, exploring the Sibun river and working on service projects in the neighboring community of St. Matthew's. We will also have a chance to visit the western highlands of Mountain Pine Ridge, as well as the beautiful beaches and reefs of Tobacco Caye. Throughout, students will be engaged in a curriculum designed to build their leadership skills while familiarizing them with the global issues where their leadership is most desperately needed.

This blog will be a place where we can share this experience with family and friends. Students will be doing most of the blogging here, but their teachers and I may chime in from time to time. When we are without access to the internet, WLS staff in Denver will provide updates on our doings.

Please sign up to follow our posts - our goal is for this experience to be just the beginning of an ongoing conversation that continues back at home.

I am eager to meet this group of adventurous students tomorrow, and I look forward to sharing this adventure with you.

From Monkey Bay,
Ben G.