Blog Entry#10

                                          "Wonder Trails"

I thought the Echo field trip was interesting but I was wrong. The campus hike which was our “on campus field trip” definitely topped every other one. I won’t lie I was scared to walk through the nature preserve because the grass was very high. I know that may sound dumb but I was terrified my skin would have an allergic reaction to the itchy grass. Other than that seeing the other student’s reaction to the nature preserve was too funny. I think once everyone got passed the fact that we were going to walk through a lot of tall grass, the field trip was even better.

            There was so much to learn from snails to an assorted array of wild flowers. I liked that the nature preserve had so many different areas to walk through. At one point when we finished walking through the tall grass we were in a forest area. It is amazing how fast the zones changed. It felt as if we were at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, it is nice to experience that again on campus.

            Memorable moments from the on-campus fieldtrip were the paths of the nature walk. I thought that there was one narrow and straight path that goes through the nature preserve. There are so many adventures that could happen depending on what path you take.  When the nature walk ended I missed the shade that was given from the trees. It was peaceful in the preserve compared to the sidewalks of the school. If I have more free time, I would definitely go out there again and enjoy what nature has to bring.

Blog Entry #9

                             Nature Reads
Reading the excerpt from The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise by Michael Grunwald was interesting. I know that politics play a major role in our everyday lives but to see how much it could affect nature was astonishing. I just couldn’t believe that when situations got serious, certain people who are in control would not step up and take charge. A good part that came out of all this was that in the end people were able to get bills passed.

            Reading The Nature of the Everglades by Marjory Stoneman Douglas was really difficult to get through. I like the fact that she is very passionate about nature and concerned about the everglades but it was also difficult grasping each sentence. One part that I especially like from the reading from Mrs. Stoneman was about the meaning of “hatchee”. I am from Loxahatchee, Florida and I found out the word hatchee means river. I live on a dirt road and on the corner of 3 canals. This made me feel connected to the everglades somewhat more.

            If I had to choose which reading was more interesting, I would definitely say that Michael Grunwald’s story was more intriguing. Reading about politics is actually very interesting because the events that happen are historical. The decisions that we make now will affect what life will be like in the future.  Whether it is was Marjory or Michael the stories were interesting but I would say that Michael’s writing was more compelling.

Blog Entry # 8

Fountain of Youth

  When I was home again for spring break there was article that I found that was amazing. The article was called “70-year-old woman says her garden is the Fountain of Youth”.  Her name is Annette Larkin and her backyard garden is full of fruits and vegetables. She has been eating vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruit as her diet since 1960. Unlike her husband who owned a meat shop, he did not follow her diet and he has high blood pressure and diabetes which he has to take medicine every day. Annette has no need for even aspirin since she became a vegan in the 1960’s. 

            Annette Larkin does not look 70 at all in fact she looks like she is 40 years old. Her skin is flawless and a wrinkle has never appeared. There is no need for her to go to the grocery store because her backyard is the store. She juices her fruits and vegetables and all her food is unprocessed. This really shows someone that living a sustainable life is not difficult and you will really reap the benefits from it. Her husband is the same age but is dealing with problems every day, whereas Annette wakes up at 5:30am everyday with ease.

            I found this article to be so interesting and inspiring at the same time. I know that if I could own some land, the first chance that I would get is to plant trees and seeds. Eating the right foods, exercising daily and being sustainable is the life that I want to live. This article shows that those three ideas can be achievable. It will help your body in the long run plus the planet. There is nothing wrong with that. Annette Larkin will be in mind when I think about how I want my body to function when I am 70 years old.

Blog Entry #7

“Estero Bay Field Trip”

No other field trip could ever compare to Fort Myers beach historic cottage. The sights were amazing from the beaches to the houses. Our first part of the journey was getting to the beach historic cottage and since the traffic was really bad, I liked the fact that we walked for a little while to the cottage. It was sort of a “green” thing to do and the weather was especially nice, so walking was a nice way to get the field trip started. Getting lemonade and cookies especially put a smile on my face because it was a nice treat to have.

Jo Hughes was our presenter and the information that she was presenting was very intriguing. Learning about her experiences through growing up in the 1930’s on Fort Myers beach was fascinating.  I liked when she spoke about the different schools she went to for early education. The schools were cottages and named after a person. There was only one teacher per three grades and the teacher was the school driver as well. That was a lot to fulfill and I couldn’t imagine doing all these jobs.

 Another interesting point that she mentioned while growing up on Fort Myers beach was how hurricane disasters have changed the bay. At first there were only three canals and now there are over a hundred canals. Which worries her the most because if we have a major hurricane; she says it would be scary to think how many pieces the bay could break into before it becomes obsolete. Learning about southwest Florida’s history and what it was like before and how it is shaped now is very interesting. I like learning about history and to learn about Fort Myers history was to cool. The final part of the field trip was a walk through the mangrove preserve boardwalk and the best part was the dock that we stood on and the view of the water was amazing. The wind and the smell of the water was just a wonderful experience. Estero Bay Field Trip is something that I will not forget about for a long time.

Blog Entry #6

  

As a child I had a very fortune experience with nature. I could say almost that I had an experience like someone from an older generation. At first I lived in a somewhat gated community but there was still a good amount of land in the backyard where I could play and come up with pretend adventures that my sister and I would go on. Then when I got to middle school I moved to an area where everyone lives on a couple of acres of land. This is where nature came into play a lot. I would be outdoors every single day after school and play with my next door neighbors until the street light came on. Then on the weekends I would be outside playing all day long. Whether it was swinging on the swing set or playing hide and go seek in the yard. Nature was my playing ground.

I do not know what type of person I would be if I was not outdoors and not in sync with nature. My life as a child was for the most part outdoors and it was very rare if I spent time indoors unless I was playing a board game or it was night time and I watched television before I went to bed. I guess I was very blessed to have parents who wanted their children to be outdoors and enjoy what nature has to give to them. I was also fortunate to have a sibling and next door neighbors that were interested in being outdoors as well. It is nice to look back at the days when I was a kid who played in the yard until the sun went down and even sometimes played when it was pitch black outside because the thought of danger lurking around was even more exciting.

Blog Entry #5

ECHO I would certainly say was a unique and knowledge filled field trip. Our tour guide definitely had a knack for people who agreed or said “yes” to what he was telling us. Every part or mostly every section of ECHO’s land was edible. Some of the other plants could be used for other necessities as well such as the Neem tree. The Neem tree is traditionally called the “toothbrush tree”. Neem bark helps to brighten teeth and maintain good oral health as well as provide aid for skin, nails, and hair. We also learned about ways to filter water by using the moringa seeds. Just one moringa seed filters bacteria out one water bottle, all you have to do in put the seed in a plastic water bottle (do not use glass) and let it sit under the sun to filter through and the bacteria will clump together.  Moringa has a lot of nutritional benefits; it has a significant source of beta carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron, and potassium.

      There was so much to learn about living a sustainable life, we learned about using blessing or “poopies” from animals and other green manures to fertilize the land. Something interesting that I learned is that the banana plant is technically considered an herb. The banana plant does not have a wooden trunk and grows back from scratch over and over again at the end of the season. We also learned techniques on how to build water pumps that could be efficient for different cultures. All you really need is a PVC pipe which comes in handy a lot.  There was so much information and details that went into this field trip that really was truly amazing.  Even if you do not have land, there is a way to garden such as urban gardening. There are many ways you can get out there and live a sustainable life, you just need to ask questions and do research. 

Blog Entry #4

FGCU Food Forest, Who knew?

            One of the best field trips so far in the university colloquium course was the Florida Gulf Coast University food forest. We learned so much about growing vegetables, fruit, and other native and non-native plants. The FGCU food forest was created by students to show them how to live a sustainable life as well as learning where food comes from and how long it takes for food to grow. The food forest was so impressive, they were growing all sorts of vegetables from carrots, eggplants, green peppers to radishes.

            I never knew that you could use natural pesticides such as onions and grits to get rid of ants and other unwanted guests. Knowing that you can have fresh vegetables and fruit without harsh pesticides that are not good for you and the environment is pretty neat. The food forest really opened my eyes and made me care for the environment a lot more. I’m actually really interested in growing my own vegetables and fruit trees, it would be nice to look in the backyard and see all my hard work bloom.

            Being in the university colloquium course, we read stories all the time about how to live a sustainable life. But for the first time I got to experience what it actually looks like to be living a sustainable life. Kelly Walsh who is one of the directors of the food forest was really passionate about growing food and she often makes meals from the food forest and from her home since she grows food there. She made star-fruit salsa the other day with her own star-fruit and even made tasty sandwiches with the different types of lettuce growing in the forest. I never really knew how influential one visit could make on a person to change their mind about sustainability.