Journal #3 - Natural Areas and Campus Ecosystems

 

Before taking this course I was aware that I would do several things outside and learn more on the environment. I thought all the field experiences would take place outside of FGCU campus, simply because I was not aware that we had so much going on right in our “backyard”. I truly enjoyed walking through campus and seeing the trails, walkways, and boardwalks I had not come across in the last two years I have been at FGCU.  It was great to see everything that FGCU is doing for the environment and how much they care to make a better future for everyone and everything that lives in it! The one thing that impacted me the most during the field experiences was the food forest. I didn’t know it existed and probably would have never known it existed if it wasn’t for this class. I think it’s great that we have organic fruits and vegetables that anyone can have at any time. In a world like today where buying junk food is so easy to get a hold of, I think the food forest provides the same idea but with a healthy and clean alternative. I felt that the food forest not only provided food but also a sense of community, where many people have come together to create this area for many others to enjoy. This comes to show that we can all help in some way to help each other be healthier and our environment healthier.

 I must say, now that I am aware of all that is happening at FGCU, such as the food forest and the trails, I am a little disappointed because I am now in my last semester and will not be spending as much time here to enjoy these areas. I wish I had known about the food forest and all that it had to offer and the same for the trails. I feel that FGCU’s mission is all about being environmentally aware and it homes many things that your typical students would probably not even know about, yet some of us are left out of the loop and not informed well of what we could experience or know about. I think one way to better make people aware would be to have areas where classes can meet and simply have class outside instead of inside the classroom. For example, during one of my science courses I would’ve loved to have gone outside and see a real tree or insect for a lesson plan we could do in our future classrooms when we become teachers. Why not use what we have to make it more real and interesting? I hope to one day have a garden for my pre-k or kindergarteners and the food forest is a great example of what I can plant and not plant and a way to learn about the different things that are there.

 

 

 

The Living Machine!

Corkscrew also had so many more things that I thought could even exist! For example, the Living Machine was pretty amazing because it is a water treatment system which purifies wastes and recycles water back into the restrooms for reuse in the toilets. To think that plants with a little help from people can do such thing is pretty amazing to me!  Corkscrew is very important because it houses many animal and plant species that cannot perhaps not be found in other places. They provide tons of information and education to all people of all ages.

What I learned about the Plume birds was pretty sad and cruel. I thought that it was even gross that some put the whole bird on their head simply to show how much money someone had. The Plume birds are one type of information that perhaps not too many people would know about unless they walked into Corkscrew. It allows us to see how we as humans can destroy something so beautiful and important for the sake of wanting to feel and look superior to others. Having such things and educating people is what will allow future generations to think more of what they are doing and what they need to take care of for a better future. When I think of all this I wonder of how many other people are missing out on learning and seeing what we have so close to home!


 

  

My favorite part was simply walking on the boardwalk and trying to look for interesting things. It made it interesting because it’s almost like a scavenger hunt, you have to watch carefully in order to see something great…and you just never know what you might find!

 

 Can you find what's hiding in the swamp cabbage?

 One change I have already started to implement since I've started this course is that I’ve decide to no longer buy bottled water. Just the other day my husband and I were shopping and he began to pick out a case of bottled water he was going to place in the cart. Just then I stopped him and told him we could use our water bottles that we had a home. He looked at me strange and said that bottled water was more convenient, so I told him that all he needed to do is put water in water bottle and he would be fine! We haven’t purchased bottled water for about three weeks, I’d say that is a good start! My next change is going to be to purchase Fair Trade coffee. My family and I  picked tomatoes in the fields and got underpaid for all the hard work, so this hits close to home when I think of the people who are picking coffee bean, doing all the hard work yet they are getting paid close to nothing. This will definitely will be a change I make right away on my next purchase of coffee!