Michael Casey's  Letter of Introduction

Greetings to the Global Coalition of friends,

        I am Michael Casey, principal and teacher at Gallon Jug Community School which is located in Gallon Jug, Belize.  Belize is located just below the Yucatan of Mexico.  You may need a magnifying glass to find us because we are a small country but we have a lot to offer.  Guatemala borders us to the
west and Mexico to the north and the Caribbean Sea is on our eastern side. 
Gallon Jug land is located on the same latitude line as Belize City however, we are on the other side of the country. Our home is a 130,000 acres of rainforest and a small farm.  On the farm we have cattle, oranges, bananas, coffee ( shade grown ), and much more.  We have a tiny school of 75 children
       As for me, I arrived here in Belize 7 years ago with my wife who is also a teacher at our school.  She teaches grades 3 and 4.  I teach grades 7 and 8. We came to Belize for an opportunity to teach outside our country of the United States. We also came here to meet other ethnic groups and to see the rainforest of Belize.  Belize still has 70% of its rainforests left to be explored and that attracted us. 

I grew up in New York but moved to Vermont when I was older to complete my studies. I have also been around the country because traveling is one thing that I love to do.  I am 30 years old and getting younger. I also have a dog named Timber who is our school mascot!      

The other hobbies that I love doing are skiing (not in Belize), mountain biking, hiking, gardening, bird watching, studying plants and their medicines, and teaching.  In college I studied politics and biology in order to increase my understanding of the natural world and the politics that govern it. I soon found that teaching children about the earth and all that it has to offer is the best way to move forward.  This is why the Global Coalition is a great learning tool for all of us
and all of you.
      All these new friendships that we are about to build will help shape this earth for the better.  We can share ideas about the environment and community which will bring all of us closer together.  If we can only do this to the whole earth than we could build a stronger, more loving community across the globe and this will help the earth and all the people who call it home.
      Here in Gallon Jug we try to do this everyday. We have a medicine trail with over 30 plants on it and we show tourists and other schools this trail.  We think that if we can do this then all these people will see how much the forests have to give and can share.  We plan to show all of you this trail on email and with pictures.  We also look forward to sharing a lot
more with you so that we can have friends across this globe and take one giant step towards making it a better place for all of us to ride on.
Now you know where to find us on maps and on email. You can also visit our website at:  http://gallonjugschool.googlepages.com/home

So, from all of us in Gallon Jug: "Keep on shining"

Your new friend,
Michael Casey & Gallon Jug Community School