AALP's Blog (118)

February 26, 2011 - Best Last Day in Guatemala Ever! Another beautiful sunny hot day in Guatemala; we actually haven’t seen rain since we arrived. The mornings have been cool and pleasant, and the last two mornings we were able to have breakfast under a huge 60-foot-high thatch roofed mezzanine overlooking Lake Peten Itza. The lake has a turquoise hue from the limestone base.…

February 24, 2011 - Go DIEGO GO!!! Can’t stop thinking about the kids and the cartoon character Diego the animal rescuer, as we took the plane, the bus, the boat and seemingly endless uphill hike (with luggage) to arrive at ARCAS animal rescue shelter at a balmy 32 degrees Celsius.

ARCAS is a wonderful place where we found very passionate people. It is an NGO…

February 22, 2011 - Today felt like we truly started our AALP International Study Tour. We woke up in Antigua, the original capital of Guatemala, which is surrounded by three active volcanoes. We even saw some smoke from one of them from the roof of our hotel.

We did not know what to expect from our visit at CasaSito, a non-governmental organization working with…

As AALP Class 13 gathered for departure from Pearson Airport early on the morning of Sunday February 20, the group soon realized that flights were running late and that American Airlines would be redirecting the flight. John Borland and Bonnie den Haan were first in the check in line and were sent to Dallas while all of the others were sent to Miami on a later flight. Bonnie and John arrived safely in Guatemala City on Sunday evening, while the remainder of the class overnighted in Florida…

July 15, 2010 - We awoke to a foggy morning on the final day of the legendary AALP Class 13 study tour. The mood on the bus was happy as we looked forward…

July 14, 2010 - We packed our bags this morning and left Washington for Andrews Air Force Base. There…

July 13, 2010 - It was another early morning as Day 9 kicked off for the AALP 13 class. The group decided to get an early start as we would be battling traffic heading into the downtown core of Washington…

July 12, 2010 – The eighth day of our tour took Class 13 to Chesapeake Bay to learn about the opportunities and challenges in this area. The Chesapeake Bay…

Sunday, July 11, 2010 - We started our day at 10:00 a.m. with the bus dropping our group off in the heart of Washington DC in the National Mall area.…

July 7, 2010 – Today was a step back in time as we continued our tour through north-central Ohio. Our first stop was the…

July 6, 2010 – Day two of the legendary AALP North American Study Tour continued despite sweltering heat. A continental breakfast greeted the class at 7:30 a.m., although there were those who chose to skip breakfast and bank the extra…

Day one of Class 13’s North American Study Tour came to an end after a 10 hour trek to our first destination point in Columbus, Ohio. We covered a lot of Ohio landscape…

The North American Study Tour component of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) is an integral part of the program curriculum. This and the International Study Tour provide opportunities for AALP class members to meet and dialogue with community, organization and business…

In exactly one month Class 13 of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program will be loading a bus and embarking on their North American Study Tour – July 5 – 15, 2010. As with all AALP seminars and study tours, a central theme and…

Each class of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) includes two study tours as part of the curriculum – one in North America, and one involving international travel. These study tours give participants the opportunity to gain an even broader perspective and understanding of regional/national/ international issues and their…